Bad Influence
by worldbuiltfortwo
Summary: Rose knows that her father doesn't want her to get to know Scorpius, but his behaviour intrigues her, and she just can't resist it. NextGeneration fic. Rated T for later chapters.
1. Train Ride

**A/N: Welcome to my first Harry Potter fanfic! I really hope you enjoy it, and please review because I love to hear opinions. x**

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"D'you mind if I sit in here?" came a quiet voice from the door way. Rose shook her head absently, continuing to read the book which lay open on her lap. She concentrated with ease, not once looking up to notice the boy sitting across from her with a confused look on his face as he watched her. He thought it best not to make an attempt at conversation; he was used to the silence anyway; it didn't bother him to gaze out of the window at passing fields, and, of course, at the curious red head in front of him.

"Finally, Rose! I've been looking everywhere for you! We wondered if you –" the boy was a replica of his famous father; Albus Potter noticed the other occupant of the compartment for the first time, "oh, sorry. I didn't realize you had company. I'll just…" he left the compartment without another word, sliding the door shut behind him.

Only at Al's interruption did Rose look up from her book and therefore recognize the silvery-blond boy her father had told her 'not to get too friendly with' on the platform. She couldn't figure out why; this boy had done nothing wrong so far, she distinctly remembered her mother telling her father not to 'turn them against each other before they even get there'.

Normally, Rose would've gone with her mother's comment; Hermione thought more rationally than Ron and probably had the more reasonable option. However, Rose could tell that her Dad had been serious when he'd told her not to get to know the boy. But she really had no reason not to talk to him.

"I didn't want to disturb you; you seemed so immersed." The boy laughed. He didn't seem so terrible, "I'm Scorpius," he told her, extending his pale hand in greeting, which she accepted. "and I'm going to go out on a limb and say you are a Weasley. I'm afraid I'll have some trouble working out which one though." He spoke in a friendly way, not insulting or rude – just commenting on the sheer enormity of Rose's family which was perfectly understandable, she thought. She was only one of twelve cousins.

"I'm Rose, Rose Weasley." She told Scorpius, looking for the first time into his intimidating steel eyes. "and you're Scorpius…?" she trailed off, with the implication of questioning a surname.

He smiled warmly, softening and deepening his grey eyes, "not important." He replied before swiftly changing the subject. "I guess that was your cousin who came in a few minutes ago?"

"Yes, one of many. That was Albus."

"How many do you have?"

"Twelve for now. Five are already at Hogwarts, Molly and Al are starting with me this year and the rest in two years time. What about you, any siblings?" she told him, counting them all off on her fingers.

Scorpius was astonished by the size or the Weasley family; books had told him it was big but this was huge! He was even more shocked by the number at Hogwarts and the way Rose had offhandedly said 'twelve for now'. "No, I don't have anyone like that. No siblings, no cousins. My father was an only child, and my mother's only sister never married."

He realized then just how bored he'd been for the past eleven years. His father barely spoke to him; Scorpius knew he didn't like him, but at least it was a mutual dislike. His mother was his only company, though she worked hard and Scorpius was often left to his own devices, this leading him to befriend the many house-elves kept in his home. He also freed some assisted by various clothes he'd grown out of over the years, as well as his father's strong whisky to convince those less willing to cooperate. He smiled slightly, remembering his father's furious expression when he realized that over half of their staff had been released.

"Life must have been kind of quiet for you." Rose commented, dragging Scorpius back from his reverie. "Still, Hogwarts is pretty well populated; you have seven years to make up for lost time. What House are you hoping to be in?"

Scorpius didn't really know how to answer this one. The truth? Tell her that all his ancestors had been in Slytherin? He'd just made his first friend every – excluding various house-elves – did he really want to jeopardize it by revealing his being a Malfoy? He knew most were prejudiced against his family and quite rightly so; he'd read what his family had done years ago. But he was different, entirely different. He didn't want everyone to know what he was, not yet.

"Uh, probably Ravenclaw." _I don't stand a chance at either_. He thought to himself. He knew Gryffindor wasn't for him – he wasn't brave enough. That was obvious just from the way he was dressed, hair slicked back and a heavy, dark, winter coat though it wasn't that cold. Just the fact that he dressed as Draco instructed showed his lack of courage.

He'd never be a good Hufflepuff because he was disloyal – he hadn't even told Rose his surname, and of course, his disloyalty was clear as he did not say he would go to Slytherin. In fact, he'd already decided that he would not. "And you? Any specific house take your fancy?"

She shook her head, tousling the elegantly curly red hair which flowed to her waist. "No, I don't really mind. I know Al's heart is set on Gryffindor but I'd rather just see what happens. My Dad said he'd disown me if I wasn't in Gryffindor but I **think** he was joking."

Scorpius laughed, highly doubting that her father was serious. **His **father on the other hand may do just that if he didn't go to Slytherin. Suddenly Scorpius was considering the many advantages to this possibility.

Remembering he still looked ridiculous, he rooted around in his pockets for his wand and drew it out, pointing it towards his head. However, he eyed Rose nervously before using it, realizing that what had become routine for him may scare her a little. She looked astounded, as though he was going to blow his own head off.

"Uh, **technically** I shouldn't do this, but I've done it so many times there's no way it could go wrong. Would it bother you if I…" he trailed off, leaving the implication hanging. She shook her head, seemingly intrigued by what he was doing.

Scorpius muttered a short incantation under his breath, which sounded oddly like 'reparo' to Rose. She knew that was a spell for fixing, yet she could see nothing on Scorpius' head which appeared to be broke. She watched as Scorpius' hair darkened from the roots down and disheveled itself until it was a chocolatey brown which covered his head and was long enough to fall into his eyes, which she noticed, were now the same colour as his hair.

Rose looked on as these changes completed and she felt like she was staring at a totally different person – even his skin tone had darkened. She was speechless; that had to be at least OWL magic. How could a first year possibly do that? Her mind wandered to her cousin-of-sorts, Teddy Lupin who had graduated from Hogwarts last year and had inherited his mother's metamorphmagus abilities. But Teddy didn't even use a wand when he changed his appearance. What Scorpius could do was different.

He grinned at her through his new locks of brown. He still had the same face, but it was more tan and his eyes were brown. "Sorry if that scared you a bit, I prefer this look; I look less like my Dad." When she did not acknowledge this, he started to panic, hesitantly leaning forward to look into her bright, sapphire eyes which were still fixed on the wall behind him. "Rose, are you okay?" he shook her shoulder gently. Nothing. "Shit." He muttered, leaning his head against the wall, covering his face with his hands. First friend he'd ever made and he'd managed to paralyze her because he had no idea how to act around people. He silently damned his parents to an eternity in Hell for making him a freak.

"How- how did you do that?" Rose whispered, still freaked by what she'd seen. If he could do this kind of magic, her father could be right. He could be capable of much worse, darker magic.

Scorpius raised his head, relieved that he hadn't permanently frozen Rose. "I mentioned that I have no siblings, right? Well I barely have parents either – they both work pretty much solidly. We have a library at our house," he laughed to himself; it was pathetic the amount of unread books they had. He was the only one who ever went into the library. "I picked up a variation on the repairing charm which altered the appearance. I was never a fan of my father's look so I thought I'd choose my own. It took a good two years to perfect but it's easy now. Shame it wouldn't work the same way with my name really."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Rose asked softly, not wanting to pry; he seemed to feel strongly about his family and she didn't want to bother him with her questions.

He smiled again, hiding any hostility, "Let's just say that my family and I have different views. I disagree with almost anything they believe in, I'll try to keep it too myself in future."

She smiled back, still slightly confused by this, but not wanting to interrogate him further. "Why did you come looking how you didn't want to then? Couldn't you have changed at home? Would've prevented petrifying me with your sudden transformation."

"I am sorry for scaring you. I've never shown anyone before; it never occurred to me that it was out of the ordinary. I guess I shouldn't really be able to do it; I wasn't even supposed to have a wand. My Dad got me one for my fifth birthday – don't ask why; he doesn't have any other children, I was a guinea-pig, and look how I turned out? I want nothing to do with him! But he would've thrown a fit if he'd seen me like this. He doesn't even know I can!" e laughed, imagining his father's reaction if he'd come down to breakfast as tan as he was right now.

They continued talking for a while, discussing books and the stories they'd heard about Hogwarts. Rose was on guard, not forgetting what her father had told her, but she wasn't inclined to agree with him on this one. For the three or so hours she'd known Scorpius, he'd been nothing but pleasant – admittedly, he momentarily frightened her when he transformed before her very eyes – but he'd been kind and funny, and she decided for herself that he would make a good friend.

When the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, the two were in a heated discussion over whether or not the well known Mrs Norris would still be alive and a good target for Quidditch. Rose reckoned she'd have died ages ago, or at least last year, when her cousin Freddie hovered her next to the Whomping Willow whilst doing his Charms homework – practicing levitation. Scorpius, though, was convinced that Filch would've stolen a Philosopher's stone in order to keep his only friend alive. Either that or he tortured a student into immortalizing the cat.

"We're here already! Guess we lost track of time. Are you going like that or would you like to become a hippogriff for the sorting?" Rose asked sarcastically, but honestly interested to know whether she'd need to be on her guard if her new friend would assume different appearances from time to time.

He chuckled again, "no, I can only become this and go back again. For now."

"Well, tell me if you discover a new look; I don't want to be confronted by a total stranger with no warning." Rose told him, only half joking. Scorpius was thrilled that there was at least one person he'd know who didn't judge him for his background – yet.

"Okay," he promised, "now let's get out of here, won't your family be waiting for you?"

She nodded and they slid open the compartment door and walked out into the corridor. Rose caught sight of a cluster of red hair and fought her way through the rapidly swelling crowd to get to them. Molly and Albus stood with Dominique and Roxanne who had kindly stayed with them, unlike James and Freddie who had probably jumped off of the train whilst it was still in motion 'just to see what would happen'. They tended to do that.

Albus greeted Rose with a hug, "wondered where you'd gone! We haven't seen you since we got separated when we got on the train. Hey, where's your friend?" he asked, looking around her for the pale, blond boy he'd seen in Rose's company a few hours previously, he was met only with the friendly smile of a very different Scorpius. Rose hesitated, not really sure how to respond. Al had only seen the other Scorpius and she didn't know what to tell her cousin.

She was saved by Scorpius who offered his hand to Al, who cocked an eyebrow in Rose's direction but took his hand. "I'm Scorpius," The mysterious boy told him, " and you're Albus Potter?"

Al nodded, seeming to have accepted this, though still looked suspicious. He was positive that this wasn't the same boy who'd been in the compartment with Rose.

"Shall we go?" Rose asked, trying to distract Al, who still eyes Scorpius doubtfully.

"Yeah," he frowned "yeah, let's go." He jumped from the train followed by Rose, Scorpius and Molly – Dominique and Roxanne had gone on ahead since they were travelling by carriage this year – they stepped out of the lights from the platform and in the general direction of Hagrid's familiar booming voice.

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**A/N: Review please! x**


	2. Feast

**A/N: Shorter than the last chapter, but I'm still only leading up to the real plot. Thanks for people who've already alerted and favorited my story! x**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing - this applies to last chapter and all future chapters. I will forget everytime. But that doesn't mean I own it. **

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The two Weasleys plus Al and Scorpius settled into one of the many floating boats as Hagrid instructed. All was going well until Al decided it would be funny to scare Molly by blowing behind her ear. She squealed and acted reflexively; flinging an arm back and catching Al on the side of the head, sending him toppling into the icy water.

Rose and Scorpius hauled him out and he sat disgruntled at the flaw in his plan for the remainder of the journey. The rest of the boat refrained from looking at him to avoid laughing and therefore meeting the same fate.

As Hogwarts came into view, Molly squealed again, though no one got wet this time. She'd been the most excited to finally be attending Hogwarts, or at least she was the one who showed it most. Scorpius smiled also; hopefully this would make a better home that Malfoy Manor had ever been. He certainly had no wish to leave now that he was here, free of his father's influence.

Of course, he thought to himself, the friend he'd found in Rose probably wouldn't last. His father had mentioned how the sorting system worked your name was called – your **full** name – and you sat on a stool with a hat on your head looking stupid until the hat picked a House for you. Naturally this ordeal took place in front of the entire school.

Professor Nubber met them in the Entrance Hall. He was a large man, slowly balding, and seemed pleasant enough. He rambled about houses being families for a while before ordering them to wait until his return. So they stood and waited. Scorpius watched as numerous children oohed and aahed at the ghosts who occasionally floated through the walls to see what all the fuss was about. Sooner or later, the Professor came to retrieve the students and ordered them to follow him into the hall.

Scorpius sighed, this was inevitable. He'd known he wouldn't be able to keep up the pretense. He glanced at Rose, who was gazing in awe at the night's sky on the ceiling. Hopefully she would see past his heritage. Surely everything he'd told her so far was enough? She felt him looking at her, and grinned. "I'm finally going to find out your name, you know." She told him.

"I know. Just don't judge me for it." he said, before walking towards the middle area of the crowd of students. He didn't have to answer questions; she'd see in time. He tried not to glance at the intimidating faces watching them as they trudged down the extensive aisle in the center of the Hall.

Scorpius only vaguely concentrated on McGonagall's welcome back speech. It was when she introduced the hat that he really listened. The hat spoke of Gryffindor and bravery, Ravenclaw wit, Hufflepuff's hard work and loyalty and a Slytherin's cunning streak. He frowned to himself; he really didn't fit into any of those Houses.

Rose waited, wondering when Scorpius would be called to the three-legged stool. She listened for the sound of his name; G passed, H, I J, K, L, she was beginning to think he was behind her somewhere when:

"_Malfoy, Scorpius"._

Rose's eyes widened as her now dark-haired friend made his way to the stool, his tan face seemingly paler than before. As he sat down, he met her eyes briefly but flicked away almost instantly as the hat dropped down over his them. Rose had seem something in his eyes though; guilt? Remorse? Disappointment?

Everything he'd told her on the train began to make sense. Why he preferred the look he now bore, why he side-stepped the mention of his surname. But not why he felt that way. Rose could tell he was **very **different from the Malfoy who regularly featured as a bad guy in the stories her parents and uncle told her.

He was so different that he didn't even want to look like his father, that was how much he hated their association. She understood now why he did not want to be in Slytherin; he was poles apart and didn't want to be treated the same way as his relatives had been. She waited, anxiously hoping that he'd be sorted into a House he'd be happy in.

Scorpius sat on the wooden stool, hat over his eyes, waiting for the inevitable verdict. He jumped almost a foot in the air when the hat **spoke** to him. His father had failed to mention that the hat had vocal chords

"I wondered when another one would come along. A Malfoy. But **you **are not the same as your father, or indeed your grandfather. Or any Malfoy I have come across. You do have the Slytherin instinct for trouble, that's for sure. But also the sharp wit and cleverness of a Ravenclaw. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are not your destiny, I think. Well, with you, most unusual Malfoy, I will break a family tradition:

"_Ravenclaw!"_

Scorpius saw the hall once again as the hat was raised from his head. He pushed the chocolatey hair out of his eyes and descended towards the table swamped in navy blue, ignoring the incessant cheering where possible. He resisted the urge to steal a glance at Rose, not wanting to see her disgust. Her parents had probably told her to 'steer clear of Scorpius Malfoy' because of the way his father behaved towards them at school. It wasn't that Scorpius **blamed** them, they had every right to be prejudiced, he just wished they weren't.

Unfortunately for Scorpius, the Weasley/Potter clan would not be the only ones against him. He considered this until he heard the call of "_Potter, Albus"_ at which his head jerked up. Rose had said that Albus had wanted to be in Gryffindor like his parents and grandparents. Scorpius hoped Al would get his wish, just as he had done. Sure enough, moments later the tatty old hat shrieked

"_Gryffindor!"_

And the younger Potter brother joined the many Weasleys at the scarlet and gold table. Scorpius concentrated harder on the sorting now, waiting patiently for Rose to be sorted. Lysander Scamander became a fellow Ravenclaw and took a seat across from him. His brother Lorcan, however, joined Al in Gryffindor. Soon after, Molly Weasley also became a Gryffindor and then it was Rose's turn to walk to the stool and have the hat dropped on her head.

Rose was slightly nervous. Though she'd been honest when telling Scorpius that she didn't mind which house she went into, she still didn't want to be alone particularly. If she was in Hufflepuff or Slytherin this would be the case. Whereas, if she was sorted into Gryffindor she could join her family, or in Ravenclaw she'd be with Scorpius and Lysander – her preferred Scamander twin.

She looked at the inside of the hat cautiously , wondering when it would come to life. The voice sprang up in her head without warning and she stiffened momentarily as she had done on the train.

"Hmm, another Weasley, this would usually be a resounding Gryffindor, but again, I have another tradition to break this evening. You are again a bad egg in the family; you are courageous but smarter. I have an inkling that you'd be better off in:

"_Ravenclaw!"_

Rose bounded off the stool and made her way to the cheering Ravenclaws. She took a seat beside Scorpius, already apologizing to her father in her head; she knew he'd disapprove – a mild word choice – but she wanted to give the morphing boy a chance. He seemed interesting to her, and she felt he would make a good friend. Scorpius looked at her, clearly astounded. She rolled her eyes and gestured to the boy sitting opposite them.

"Scorpius, have you met Lysander?" she asked him, on the off chance that he'd respond. He snapped out of it and turned to the sandy haired boy to introduce himself.

Lysander eyed him confusedly, "Scorpius Malfoy? I've seen photos of your parents – my Mum owns the Quibbler – and the look nothing like you at all."

Scorpius smiled, he'd known this could be a problem for him. Thankfully he'd discovered the perfect reply which wasn't entirely lying. "I'm not much like my parents. Only son and a disappointment. I like to call it karma."

Lysander laughed, "so, a Malfoy. Disappointed about not being a Slytherin then?"

Scorpius feigned horror, "no, that would have pleased my father. Come on, 'Sand, we can't have **that **can we?" he told him, reaching for a chicken leg.

They hadn't exactly listened to the Head's speech, but they got the general idea. She didn't say anything important; just to stay away from the sleeping dragon tapestry on the fourth floor bla bla…forbidden forest forbidden…and boom! Food appears. There was nothing to **really **pay attention to, was there?

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**A/N; Please review, say what you think so far. x**


	3. Trouble

**A/N: I'm really enjoying writing this story. Thanks for the reviews, and people who are adding this as an alert or favorite, please review as well! This basically summarizes first year. x**

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Rose soon picked up that Scorpius had a bad boy side, a real thirst for causing trouble. Just the fourth day of lessons, she, Scorpius and Lysander were headed for Charms with Professor Flitwick from Ravenclaw Tower. Scorpius led them behind a tapestry of a sleeping dragon, claiming it was a short cut and they'd be on time for class.

It wasn't. the tree were stuck behind the tapestry, in the dark, until Lysander lost his temper and fired random curses at the tapestry, causing it to burst into flames. He didn't actually know any curses, he revealed later, but he figured that if he shouted a load of jumbled letters or Latin, **something** was bound to happen.

Rose knew now why her Dad wanted her to stay away from Scorpius Malfoy but she didn't think he really had anything against the **boy**, just his father. Scorpius was clearly unlike his entire family, and Rose didn't know how her father could possibly know this.

At breakfast, a week after the sorting, Scorpius received a letter from a snooty owl whose name he did not care to know.

_Scorpius,_

_I understand that you have been sorted into Ravenclaw. I am furious that you would turn on your whole family and what we believe in. If any other situation causes you to tarnish the Malfoy name, you may no longer consider yourself a member of our highly respected line of wizards._

_Draco Malfoy_

_P.S. Did you shred my set of unique eagle quills? This will not be the last mention of the matter._

Rose read the letter, but before she could comment, apologize or attempt to comfort her friend, he had 'accidentally' dropped the small piece of parchment into his coffee goblet and proceeded to ask her what she thought of slippers that changed colour with the mood.

"I don't know; is this something you're thinking of investing in or are planning to fasten to Mrs Norris' head?"

"Well, originally it was just a random question. But now you mention it, I am quite intrigued by that second option," his eyes drifted towards the Entrance Hall, where Mrs Norris hissed at various students as they passed.

Rose slapped his arm, teasingly "Stop it! You can't do that, Filch would have you in detention 'til fifth year." She scolded her friend who just grinned, apparently unconcerned.

"Fine, I won't." he sighed, defeated. Noticing Rose's skeptical expression, he added indignantly "I promise!"

They continued talking until Rose felt someone behind her. "Who's **this**?" James asked, looking distrustfully at Scorpius.

"This, dear cousin," Rose said, turning to face him, "is my friend, Scorpius." She told him icily, not liking his tone.

James' eyes widened at her, shock all over his face. "The Malfoy boy? Rose what are you thinking? Uncle Ron will **kill** you! Stay away from him!" he shrieked in a whisper, clearly horrified at the idea of his cousin being friends with the boy so clearly disliked by their family, or at least, his father was.

Scorpius had known this was coming. Even if Rose accepted him, her family obviously didn't. Not really wanting to hear the rest of the conversation, Scorpius slowly raised, planning to leave without being noticed. Unfortunately, Rose had spectacular peripheral vision, and grabbed his arm, holding him back. Without letting him go, she turned back to her cousin. "No, James. Scorpius is different. He's not like his dad; he's in **Ravenclaw** if nothing else will convince you. Scorp, show him the letter." She told her friend, releasing her grip, but still glaring fiercely up at the eldest Potter.

Scorpius looked guiltily into the coffee. The parchment certainly wasn't in the same condition as it had been. Without making eye contact with, well, anyone, he reached his hand into the goblet and fished out the letter as surreptitiously as possible.

Rose looked over at him; wondering why it was taking so long, to be met with the amusing sight of Scorpius attempting to dry the coffee-stained parchment by holding the sodden letter over the cauldron of steaming porridge, a desperately hopeful look on his face.

Trying not to laugh at his hopeless method, Rose took the blotchy sheet of parchment out of his hands and thrust it into those of his bewildered cousin who did his best to read it. He finished the short letter after some time, due to the many areas obscured by melted coffee granules. "Hell, this guy's worse than the bastard Dad talks about – no offence, mate." He added to Scorpius, who didn't seem in the least offended; he merely smiled; glad that someone shared his views.

James looked doubtfully between his cousin and her friend before nodding slowly to himself; a knowing gleam in his eyes. "**You** better look after her," he told Scorpius, "if she gets hurt, I'll know where to come. As will the rest of her family." He threatened before leaving the two first years alone again.

Scorpius frowned, confused. Not about what James had said; he'd been perfectly clear. But Scorpius wondered why James had thought he would hurt Rose. She'd been the best friend he'd made – the first friend – he wasn't going to ruin it.

"Scorp?" Rose's voice drew him back to the breakfast table and he looked up, to see that she was looking down at the letter from his father again, she looked up to meet his eyes questioningly, "**Did **you shred his quills?"

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Seven Months Later

It was a week before the end of the school year, and the tally drawn on the back of one of Rose's old Defense Against the Dark Arts essay stood as:

Scorpius

Detentions: 8

House Points Lost: 60

House Points Gained: 190

Rose

Detentions: 7

House Points Lost: 65

House Points Gained: 220

"I guess we're pretty much even." Rose deduced from the results.

"No way! A detention is worth more than losing five points. I win." Scorpius retaliated, and she knew he was right.

"Fine, you win. I'll beat you next year. What was the extra detention for anyway? We're always together."

Scorpius thought for a moment. "Oh! It was when I locked everyone in the Herbology Greenhouse with mandrakes and then I summoned everyone's earmuffs through the roof window."

Rose frowned, "Where was I then?"

"You were in the Forbidden Forest, preparing the fireworks which we'd organized to display "Happy 50th Anniversary, Minerva" I think that went very smoothly actually – it certainly started rumors. Too bad we got caught coming out of the forest."

"We can improve next year." She told him, knowing that they already had plenty of ideas lined up. Scorpius smiled, getting the same mischievous glint in his deep brown eyes that Rose had gotten to know so well.

It'd been a good year, she thought. She and Scorpius had grown inseparable; a terrible feat for the the staff; the pair were extremely smart and talented – although they devoted most of this towards wreaking havoc in the school. They were even referred to as the new and improved Weasley twins at times – a comment they took as complimentary, and therefore set up a tribute to the famous red-heads and their years at Hogwarts.

This tribute involved decorating the History of Magic classroom walls and floor with bright orange fur, complemented by various banners displaying the two trouble makers.

Rose was very happy at Hogwarts; she was ahead in her studies, and she had two best friends who were not related to her – Lysander still remained close, though his tally was so pitiful that they had decided not to display it; every time either Rose or Scorpius suggested something that could involve trouble, Sand quietly retreated to the boys' dormitory to read the Quibbler out of harm's way.

Rose decided that, even if her father wasn't, her Uncle George would be proud.

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End of the Holidays

If Crookshanks wasn't so old an moody, she wouldn't have scratched Ronald Weasley for snoring as he slept. Therefore he wouldn't have woken up so early that fateful morning and gone downstairs to throw the cat out of the house. He then wouldn't have discovered Rose's owl, Wings, strutting around the table, a scroll attached to her leg.

Ron wouldn't have opened the scroll and read it, leading him to storm up the stairs like a herd of elephants and barge into the room of his sleeping daughter, only to slip on the bar of wet soap, charmed never to dry up which she'd left there to prevent the entry of her brother, Hugo. Thus, Ron Weasley would not have fallen backwards down the stairs and spent the day at St. Mungo's with a concussion and his head through the seat of an armchair.

But Crookshanks was old and moody, so the previous events did happen, and Rose now sat opposite her fuming – though recovered – father and disappointed mother, waiting for someone to speak. Eventually, Ron lost his temper. "Rose Weasley, would you like to explain **why** you have been in contact with **this boy** for the whole summer?" he spoke calmly, and credit to him, he was clearly struggling.

Rose, having failed to mention Scorpius to her parents, stuttered "he's…well, he's" unable to find the right words to describe her best friend. "I guess… in a way, he's…well, he's my…I –"

"ROSE! YOU ARE TWELVE YEARS OLD! WHY THE **BLOODY HELL** ARE YOU DATING? AND **HIM** OF ALL –"

"Dad! I am not dating Scorpius! That would be so weird. As you have correctly stated, I'm only twelve, but I can't even **imagine** dating Scorp; he's my best friend."

Ron's eyes bugged out on stalks. Hermione glanced at her husband, praying to high heaven that they would not have to make another visit to St. Mungo's. "Best. Friend. Rosie, I told you to stay away from him! Why? Why would you do this? He's a **Slytherin**!" He spat the last word, as though hating the taste.

"Ah, my father, if I may correct you just there; Scorpius is in Ravenclaw as it happens. Trust me, you can ask James, Al or Sand. They'll all tell you." Rose told her father triumphantly. Unfortunately, it did not achieve the reaction she'd hoped for.

Ron snorted, "Please. A **Malfoy** in Ravenclaw? Nice try Rosie, but I'm not completely stupid. There's no way I'm going to believe that."

Without responding, Rose ran to her room, furious. She returned moments later with a photograph in hand. She and Scorpius had felt it was necessary to take a photo of the History of Magic room before it was returned to its original boring state. The moving image showed herself and Scorpius making snow angels on the hairy orange floor in their Ravenclaw robes – Sand had taken the photo; not wanting to take responsibility for causing the mess. She smiled at the memory before thrusting it into her father's unwilling hands.

"What's this?" he grumbled, glancing down at it.

"Proof. **That **is me and Scorpius."

Ron shook his head. "No, that's not Malfoy's son. I saw him on the platform in September. He looked just like his father – it's not this guy." He looked at the photo again, noticing the background for the first time; "where was this even taken, Rose?"

"Oh, History of Magic classroom. That **is **Scorpius, Dad. Scorpius Malfoy is in Ravenclaw and he is my best friend."

"I don't like it Rosie."

"I didn't ask you to, Dad."

They would have continued arguing were it not for Hermione's sudden intervention, she screeched making her presence known for the first time, the other two almost fell out of their seats, "Rose!" she glared "what did the two of you **do** to the History of Magic classroom?"

"Well, Mum, I would love to tell you. But I think Uncle George should know first." Rose told her mother, before leaving the bewildered couple alone as she ascended the stairs to her room.

Hugo was waiting at the top; "is it still dangerous to go down?" he hissed at her softly, not wanting to disturb their parents. "I'm bloody starving."

Rose grinned at him, he'd inherited his father's mouth. "It's safe; just don't mention Scorpius Malfoy or orange fur. You'll be fine."

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**A/N: Hope you liked it, please review! x**


	4. Fourth Year

**A/N: Longest chapter I've ever written! Hope you like it, x**

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"I'm sure you are all wondering why there is a staff meeting so soon after the the beginning of term." Professor McGonagall spoke softly to her fellow professors softly, a slight edge to her voice. "Some of you may have deduced that it relates to the incident at the start of term feast. You probably all noticed the lack of food that evening, and the unexpected roast meal for breakfast,"

The anger became more apparent, "I would like to inform you that Professor Slughorn and myself have, at last, discovered the two students responsible for the confounding the house-elves in the kitchen into believing that the banquet was to occur twelve hours later."

The Headmistress's face was one of fury and and certain members of staff visibly shrank into their seats; Professor Flitwick squeaked quietly with fear. She carried on loudly, "Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley are the culprits, once again. Eventually, we had to use Veritaserum on the poor elves because they were so confused. It seems that Mr. Malfoy has an extremely powerful Confundus Charm."

She took a deep breath, controlling herself, before continuing, directing her next words towards Professor Flitwick. "Filius, I hope you will **try** to keep your students in line this year. At least we can be relieved that there was no repeat of the last incident with the first years."

Many shuddered, remembering the chaos after the Energy Potion had been leaked into the Black Lake. Unfortunately, the Grindylows had rather enjoyed Rose's strong concoction and Hogwarts' newest arrivals had entered the Great Hall absolutely terrified.

Of course, Rose and Scorpius would never **hurt** anyone during their pranks, they'd thrown in an antidote to the Energy as soon as the Grindylows got nearer to the surface and the First Years hadn't been harmed – just jostled a little in the boat. The only exception to their rule of not hurting their victims was Mrs Norris who unwisely followed them around and eventually, Rose got fed up and cursed her, resulting in the growth of a second head.

* * *

As they grew older, Scorpius and Rose developed quite a name for themselves, as well as good looks that were envied by many others. They also became the targets of many admirers, which they did not often take kindly to.

Scorpius began to notice the many girls who had taken to follow him around the castle and grounds and he was, quite frankly , tired of it. His main concern was Arabella White, an irritatingly persistent Gryffindor. The problem with her being a fourth year, was that she shared classes with him at times, and she, along with her giggling friends would sit directly behind him, commenting in stage whispers on his every move.

So much so, that in one particular Transfiguration lesson, Scorpius decided to make their analysis more challenging and did not move at all for a whole hour. The hour only ended because Arabella screamed that he was 'suffocating himself' and started trying to wake him up. He hadn't **wanted** to jinx her, but he'd had to get off of him somehow.

Although Rose teased him incessantly about Arabella and other members of his fan club, Scorpius had just as much to use against her. However, rather than tease her, he slipped into a more protective angle; threatening to hex any boy who glanced her way, safe for her cousins and brother who definitely saw it his way. Unfortunately, the only time anyone moved in on Rose; James, Al and Hugo were elsewhere – probably best not to specify – and Scorpius was retrieving a book from the library which they needed to summon the merpeople.

"Rosie Weasley?" came a soft, surprised voice from the shadows. Rose stiffened instinctively; she knew that voice and it wasn't one she cared much to hear.

"What do you want Morris? I have things to do, and none of them involve being anywhere near you."

"Aw, you like me Rosie, come on, no need to lie to me or yourself. No one can stop us – not your brother or cousins or your worthless, blood-traitor boyfriend. Look around, no one's even here." He appeared from behind a suit of armor, revealing his squashed face and tall, thick frame. Rose shuddered at the sight of him.

He approached with a gleeful, cocky smile on his face. She looked the opposite direction at the secret, restricted entrance to the library. Scorpius was in there; Rose was keeping watch. Why did Daniel Morris choose **now** to show up? She felt him come up beside her and he turned her chin, forcing her to face him.

Rose knew better than to get her wand out and try to fight or duel him; she stood no chance against a seventh year. "Get off me" she hissed, knowing it wouldn't do much good. As she expected, the elder boy ignored her. As he leaned in to kiss her, she drew her lips into a straight line and squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the worst experience of her life. Seriously, why did her first kiss have to be one she would regret for the rest of her life?

"You sick, repulsive bastard. Get your filthy, perverted hands away from her. I'm going to hex you until you can't hear your own screams, you disgusting prick. MOVE." In any other situation, Rose would have scolded her friend for his language but she was so relieved that she could only watch as Scorpius brandished his want at Morris, a menacing look on his face. Rose feared that he was out for blood; the expression on his face was fierce and he was obviously beginning to consider tearing Daniel Morris apart with his bare hands.

"Oh look, it's the –" Morris began tauntingly. Smart one, this, Rose thought to herself. Scorpius was well known for overreacting, and his next action was clearly a circumstance to which this trait could be applied. Rose never discovered how exactly Morris was planning to insult Scorpius, because it was at that moment that Scorpius had had enough.

One second the boy stood over Rose and the next, the shadow was gone. Rose almost smiled at the sound at the sound which replaced it. The low croaking came from the floor and she looked down to see a large, hideous, pale orange toad.

"Ugh! So unimaginative! Christ, I really couldn't think of anything else. I didn't even know I was capable of such a cliché." Scorpius hit his head against the wall repeatedly – attracting a few pairs of eyes questioning his sanity from the various portraits in the corridor – until Rose dragged him away. She was thrilled that Scorpius had shown up when he had, but that didn't stop it being stupid.

"Scorp, you shouldn't have done that. He was a seventh year!"

"Oh, my apologies," he answered sarcastically, "I didn't realize you wanted him to kiss you. He's a prick and he's way too old for you – the term 'pedophile' comes to mind. Maybe slightly harsh, but still." Scorpius defended.

Rose rolled her eyes, "not that you turned him into a frog, that's fine; if a little advanced for a fourth year." She eyes her friend suspiciously, Scorpius blushed the appropriate amount but said nothing. He'd not actually intended to **use** that particular bit of transfiguration, he just thought it would be a really useful self-defense spell. "But if it hadn't worked and he'd cursed you, this would be so much worse. He could've really hurt you."

Scorpius sighed; she was right, but, of course, she was only speaking of what could not happen now. He glanced down at the massive frog still croaking and hopping around. Wordlessly, Rose kicked a foot out and sent the seventh year flying down the staircase. Scorpius looked up at her, appalled "you didn't have to **kill** him! I was just going to throw him into Moaning Myrtle's toilet with a few dung bombs strapped to him for the night, but I guess those plans are no longer needed."

"You were getting distracted," she shrugged, "he'll be fine. I haven't killed him, look." They peered down the stairs to see the boy-turned-frog trying to get back up the stairs. "Scorp, promise me you won't do something like that again." She requested him, then, noticing the reluctant look on his face she added "or I will no longer be your body guard when Arabella comes looking."

Scorpius panicked, Rose was the only one keeping him safe; Lysander found it too funny to try and stop it. "Fine, fine, I won't. But I don't regret it."

"Oh, please, neither do I." Rose shuddered at what would have happened if it weren't for Scorpius' impeccable timing. Then, surprising not only him but also herself, Rose stretched up to kiss his cheek, "thank you," she muttered. The aforementioned cheek promptly turned a light shade of pink, whilst Rose's blush steadily grew to match her hair.

"So… um… did you find the… uh, book?" she asked timidly, in a poor attempt to break the awkward silence.

Also eager to end the stillness, Scorpius said, "yes, and the reason I took so long is that I got side-tracked." He grimaced, knowing that if he hadn't been distracted so easily, there probably wouldn't be a really pissed off frog at the bottom of the staircase. "I found a book on Quidditch cheats, and though Quidditch **really** isn't my thing," it was true; the only time Scorpius had attempted Quidditch he just hadn't been able to resist levitating the quaffle, and Professor Moon had banned him from playing. "but this could be a lot of fun at the Hufflepuff/Slytherin game tomorrow."

Rose grinned, anticipating what he could have come up with - it **was **the Restricted Section after all. "Let's hear it, then." She said, and as they made their way back to the Ravenclaw Common room, Scorpius told her. Fortunately for them, no one heard.

At breakfast the following morning, Scorpius, Rose and Lysander were surprisingly quiet. Rose and Scorpius did their best to keep a poker face, knowing what they were going to do. They'd never disrupted a Quidditch game before, and though it was infallible, they were still slightly nervous. Lysander kept his head down because he really didn't want to know what his two friends were up to, but he took the fact that the two were silent as confirmation that it wasn't good.

Daniel Morris was also quiet; too busy glaring daggers into the back of Scorpius' head to talk. It would have seemed that Scorpius did not notice this, but when they left, following Morris out to the pitches, he said loudly to Lysander; "You know, Sand, I read that if a girl doesn't like the boy who's trying to kiss her, and would rather see a stray basilisk fang protruding from the back of his head, said boy will transform into a frog, because the rest of the world takes pity on the poor unfortunate girl being assaulted. Ironic, no?"

The comment causing Daniel to reach for his wand only to topple over, having been hit in the back by a subtly cast Jelly-Legs jinx which Scorpius insisted had been a reflex and therefore involuntary. Rose tutted at her friend as they dodged the angry Slytherin (who was still trying to gain a vertical position) and jogged towards the stadium.

"Let it go, Scorp. You can't go making enemies over me, and we have business to attend to now – no distractions." They told Lysander to go ahead and save them seats whilst they 'placed bets'. The two Ravenclaws hid in the bushes a fair distance from the entrance and watched as the last of the crowds entered. They waited until they heard the balls released, before walking towards the stadium again.

"Okay, you sure you can do this?" the red-head asked her friend in hushed tones. They had practiced the spell relentlessly the previous night after returning from the library and Scorpius had appeared to be more consistent. He only nodded in response before drawing his ten and a half inch oak wand and pointing it at the sky – hopefully it would come over the stands rather than through.

"Accio snitch." He said forcefully, voice still low. They waited silently, both watching the sky. When nothing happened, Scorpius muttered, "should I try again, or –" but he was cut off by the soft fluttering of wings, and they looked up to see the small golden ball propelling towards them. He stretched out his arm and caught the ball before it could knock him out. He grinned at Rose, who rolled her eyes at the clichéd catch and gently pushed open the doors.

The two surreptitiously walked towards the Ravenclaw stands as latecomers; luckily everyone was so immersed in the game that no one noticed. It wasn't really either of their cup of tea, but had they returned to the common room, it would have looked suspicious.

Six hours later, the game was still taking place with no signs of finishing up. With no desire to pull an all-nighter most of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and even the less patriotic Hufflepuffs and Slytherins had left the stadium – Rose, Scorpius and Lysander included. Since none of them were particularly interested, and their house wasn't even playing, they preferred to retreat to the Ravenclaw common room after six hours outside.

Lysander listened, horrified as Scorpius and Rose delightedly relayed their actions which explained why a single Quidditch match was currently in its ninth hour of play. "You two are permanently screwed this time. Not just the teachers, but all of Hufflepuff and Slytherin are going to kill you. I swear, you don't stand a chance. I'd owl your parents before McGonagall does about this one. Merlin knows why she didn't after the stunt you pulled at the feast." He shook his head in disbelief.

He was right; it had been a lucky escape which had avoided the Head sending a letter to both the Malfoys and the Weasleys. The 'lucky escape' **actually **involved obliterating the memory of the owls in question as they flew out of McGonagall's study window. It had been a well timed double act: Scorpius had erased the memory and almost instantly, Rose issued the new destination of the letters – the Ravenclaw common room. Both families remained none the wiser.

"How will they ever know it was us? Relax, Sand, we're fine." Rose replied, kicking back in one of the big, blue, squashy armchairs by the fire. Scorpius and Lysander took two others. It was relatively quiet in the Common Room as most had resided to the dormitories.

Some had gone to the Great Hall, where an early supper was being served to only two houses since James and Freddie had been complaining to the rest of the country about how hungry they were and if they didn't get fed they would fly into the Quidditch stadium and steal the quaffle. However, the quaffle wasn't what was necessary to end the game.

"Of course they'll know it was you," Lysander told them as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it probably was, "Scorp has the bloody snitch in his pocket! And you two have one hell of a reputation to go with the evidence; you're the prime suspects. There's no **way** you're getting out of this one."

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**A/N: Please, please, please review! x**


	5. Letters

**A/N: Enjoy, and this is a T rating, so the language is allowed. x**

* * *

Rose and Scorpius sat in Professor McGonagall's study awaiting their fate. To say that they were nervous would be stretching it – they'd been in this position more often than not and it was slowly becoming routine. "What on earth possessed the two of you to do this." The Headmistress spoke with a voice like steel, her eyes closed so as not to lash out at the two Fourth Years in front of her.

"Uh, it was challenging." Rose responded truthfully, thought it was not the sole reason for stealing the snitch. They had spent four or so hours perfecting the summoning charm and had been very impressed with their result. It had been a challenge, but that was not why they did it. Apparently, Professor McGonagall knew this as well. She raised her eyebrows skeptically.

"It was really funny," Scorpius told her looking her dead in the eyes, not an ounce of fear or uncertainty in his voice. He was being totally honest and when he did that, Rose knew it was because he wanted to hurry things along. Scorpius wasn't honest because he wanted to be, or because he felt compelled morally, he was honest because he was bored and want his punishment so he could get the hell out.

They eyebrows fell into a penetrating glare. "Funny? You found a twenty-six hour Quidditch match entertaining, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Well, no, not so much that. It was more the concept that a Quidditch match would actually **continue** when the snitch was missing – I mean clearly no one noticed it was, hence the twenty-six hour match." He explained, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared, her eyes flashed lightning bolts at the fourteen year old boy. She was **fuming**. "I see. And what, may I ask, is this drivel I hear from Mr. Filch about finding Mr. Morris transfigured into a toad outside the Hufflepuff portrait on Saturday morning? Does **that **concern you, Mr. Malfoy? Miss Weasley?" her voice shook, barely controlled. It seemed she was trying to drag up enough evidence against the rebellious troublemakers to give them a worthwhile punishment.

"Yeah that was me too. I didn't mean to turn him into a frog. I was hoping for something more creative but it was the heat of the moment…" Scorpius hung his head in shame. Strange boy, Rose thought; ashamed at his lack of imagination rather than his actions.

"Why?" the question came fiercely from Professor McGonagall, who was also wondering how the young boy was capable of such magic.

"He assaulted Rose." He replied heatedly, amusement in his eyes dying to be replaced with a dark hatred. Rose hoped he wouldn't lash out at the arm of the chair which he gripped awfully tightly. "I didn't think his actions should go unpunished and it was his word against ours so **I** dealt with him. Not that I could have stopped myself." He muttered.

Professor McGonagall's expression softened slightly as she glanced between the two students. She wore the same knowing look that James had after reading Scorpius' letter in First Year, Rose noticed, but she couldn't analyze it, couldn't quite figure out what it meant. Of course, this softened expression would not make their punishment any less horrible.

"Well, for that action I believe I can excuse you. Please do not make a habit of turning other students into amphibians, Mr. Malfoy, and Miss Weasley, please refrain from kicking Mr. Malfoy's transfigured victims down the staircase." Rose blushed and suddenly the floor was very interesting.

"On the subject of the stolen snitch," she continued pointedly, "I shall be writing to both of your parents about. And no, these letters will not be intercepted because I shall deliver them myself. Unless you two would like to try you hands at breaking into the Ministry and altering the Floo Network, I suggest you stay out of it, and accept your fate.

As for your punishment, one hundred points will be taken from each of you for Ravenclaw, and you will both serve detention with Professor Binns until the end of the summer term. I think that will suffice for the feast incident as well. If you get yourselves into any **more **trouble, your detentions will continue into your fifth year. You shall go to the History of Magic classroom at 6pm on Saturday after dinner. You may go." She dismissed, and the two got up to leave.

Scorpius rolled his eyes dramatically at his partner in crime and she struggled not to laugh. "Mr. Malfoy?" he turned back to face the Headmistress, who smiled slightly, "impressive transfiguration. You will make a talented NEWT student one day." Surprised at the sudden change of atmosphere, Scorpius blushed slightly, muttered his thanks and dragged Rose from the room.

Rose was laughing to loud for them to hear the portrait of Professor Dumbledore speak to the Headmistress, "Oh dear, Minerva. What do you suppose Draco Malfoy will make of this relationship? Surely he could become a problem for the young couple. Not to mention Ronald Weasley."

"It's not quite a relationship yet Albus. They're still the closest friends, but not a couple. However, I can only imagine that they will become even more intolerable once they realize their affections." She responded, already blanching at the thought of Scorpius and Rose getting worse.

It was soon spread as fact that Scorpius Malfoy was after the Transfiguration teaching job. Rose had been overheard telling Lysander through fits of giggles whilst Scorpius watched, sulkily, and and the story had developed from there. This meant that Professor Dubble took a sudden dislike to Scorpius, calling on him more often in class, only to be irked further as Scorpius tended to know the answers. Scorpius himself could not care less what they rest of the castle was saying about his apparent ambitions. He was surprised, however, to received an owl from his father, who rarely, if ever, wrote to him.

"What's it say?" Rose asked, helping herself to pumpkin juice and filling Scorpius' absent mindedly, ignoring Lysander's which he'd even held out to her as a prompt. She eyed her best friend curiously as his chocolate eyes roamed over the parchment again and again. Rose, Lysander and Louis jumped when Scorpius burst out into peals of uncontrolled laughter.

"Bloody hell, mate!"! Louis hissed, still shocked, having spilt coffee down his robes. Louis was Rose's cousin, her Uncle Bill's and Aunt Fleur's son, who had joined Hogwarts in the same year as Hugo and Lily, both of whom had been sorted into Gryffindor.

"He disowned me! Bloody git disowned me! Look at this drivel about not being entitled to anything in the Malfoy name! As if I give a shit! Who's he going to pass it all to when he croaks then? I'm his only family and he sure as hell has no friends. All the Malfoy possessions and heirlooms rotting away in a muggle charity shop somewhere. I love it!" the laughter continued as the two Weasleys and Lysander watched dumbfounded.

Louis had a piece of bacon half way to his mouth, Rose just stared and Lysander eventually snapped out of it and rolled his eyes. SLAP!

"Damn it Sand, what was that for? Don't you **have** a wand you wanker?" he yelled, earning reproachful glares from the High Table.

"Language, Scorpius Malfoy." Rose scolded reflexively. Her friend had a nasty vocabulary and she was the only one who even tried to keep him from using it. Unfortunately, he rarely listened to her telling him off and proceeded to speak foul words. Merlin knew where he got it from. Rose was used to her father using such words and her mother hexing him for it. It didn't bother her enough to hex her friend, but she could make some effort.

"Scor, you were being a plonker." Lysander told him, explaining everything. As per usual, Scorpius wasn't listening, he replied to Rose's comment.

"Ah, I'm not a Malfoy , Rose, remember? My bastard of a father dropped me 'cause I'm mates with you lot, I stole a snitch and maybe because I transfigured a Slytherin."

"Scor, I'm sorry. Would he reconsider if we weren't friends?" Rose asked him softly, hating the thought, but she was prepared to sacrifice if for him. If he chose his family, she'd lose her best friend, but he'd be happier, so she would be too. At least she convinced herself that.

Scorpius took her hand – which she hadn't realized was clenched to a fist – and looked into her eyes. "Rose, your friendship means more to me than my father ever did. If he wants to be a pompous git then he can die alone. You know my mother left him last year; said she wanted to work full time. She was lying – she'd gotten fed up with him. Now I'm gone, so he has no one. Trust me, Rose, **I'm **not losing anything."

Rose was losing herself in those eyes, those deep brown eyes that bled with sincerity. She could drown in them, in the feeling, the emotion they carried. She found herself unable to blink, unable to breathe. She could not break eye contact, couldn't force herself to look away.

"Get a room and snog already. Jeez no one wants to watch this, talk about PDA." Louis spoke loud enough for Rose to drag herself out of Scorpius' eyes and dump scrambled egg onto her only Ravenclaw cousin.

Lysander stood up to leave; "I, for one, think you make a lovely couple. Be safe!" he yelled as he ran out of the the hall, only to be hit by Scorpius' well aimed full body bind.

"You going to move him?" Rose asked, not particularly interested.

"Nope."

* * *

_Mum, _

_I want to start by apologizing for the whole deal with stealing the snitch. I know that Quidditch means a lot to Dad and by messing the game up I must have really annoyed him. But if it's any consolation, I got punished and Scor and I have to spend the next two terms rewriting textbooks and references of Wizard Laws without magic. Before you ask, if it gets interesting, yes I will owl you._

_Speaking of Scorpius, I was wondering if he could come stay for the holidays? See, when you and Dad got the letter about the Quidditch incident, Mr. Malfoy got one too and he disowned Scor for 'tarnishing the name' and whatnot. He has nowhere to go. I know Dad won't like it, that's why I owled you. Let me know! _

_Love, Rose x_

* * *

_Rose, _

_Your father and I are very disappointed in your behavior. We will discuss this when you come home. In the meantime, please do owl me about the origins of goblin hierarchy should you come across it. _

_Of course your friend may stay with us. Your father is as delighted as I am to have him here. See you at the end of term, hopefully with no more correspondence with Professor McGonagall. _

_Love, Mum x_

_P. S. A letter from your father:_

_Rosie, did Hufflepuff beat Slytherin in the end? How long was the match? Tell this 'Scorpius' that his father is an ass and he has to keep his hands off of you wherever he lives. Love, Dad x_

* * *

When Summer finally arrived, Scorpius, Rose and Hugo met Ron and Hermione as they got off the train. Hermione shocked them all by embracing Scorpius as she did her own two children. His eyes widened and flashed instantly to Rose, "what do I do?" he mouthed, with no response. Rose was too surprised to move.

When Mrs Weasley finally let him go, everything seemed to return to normal again. "It's lovely to meet you , Scorpius. I'm glad Rose has found such a good friend."

Not really sure what she was on about, Scorpius responded politely, "It's good to meet you too, Mrs Weasley, Mr. Weasley. Thank you for having me to stay with you this summer."

"Not a problem, it's a pleasure to have you. And please, call me Hermione." Then, as an aside to her husband, "Ron, be nice."

"I'm sorry your father is such a stuck up git. Rosie seems to think you're different." And that was it. He turned then, following a few families through the barrier. No one was really sure how serious he was, Scorpius just enjoyed the fact that this guy seemed to hate his dad too.

"Sorry, come on Scor." Rose tugged on his arm, still glowering at the brick wall her father had just passed through.

They arrived back at 'Weasley Manor' as named by Ron as he tried, unsuccessfully, to get a rise out of Scorpius. Scorpius had not referred to Malfoy Manor as such since he turned six, when he dubbed it, quite accurately in his opinion, 'Hell on a Hill'. They looked up at the country house, big enough to house twelve though only four lived there – and just two most of the time. Scorpius assumed they had many family gatherings, in which case the house may be too small. Rose took Scorpius' hand and led him inside.

Ron hung back and watched the two, disgusted.

Hermione hung back and watched the two, satisfied.

"Look at him, holding her hand like that." He shuddered at the sight of his daughter, imagining a relationship further than their being close friends.

"For goodness sake, Ron. There's nothing in it. You'll do yourself in with all this overreacting one of these days. Be civil to the poor boy – he's not his father." His wife warned him sternly before striding into the house after Hugo, who had left his parents to it for fear of an head explosion on his father's part.

Rose gave Scorpius a tour and finally showed him his bedroom. The room had been transformed into a relaxed living area from an attic, and was accessed by a ladder and trapdoor which had been charmed by Hermione so that Ron could not get near or do any damage to it. Not that he would, Rose assured Scorpius, it was merely a precaution.

The room was spacious and comfortable, blue and green bedspread and walls. "Wow!" Scorpius exclaimed softly as he saw it. "It's like a home!"

"Well yes, we do live here." Rose replied, somewhat surprised by his reaction. It wasn't the fanciest room; really big, but not particularly special. It was only as she watched Scorpius gaze around the room in awe, that she realized she knew next to nothing about his home. His current joy would have entertained her, were it not obvious that he'd actually never lived somewhere like this before.

"Scor? What was your old home like?"

He turned to look at her, taking in her nervous face. He smiled at her, he didn't want her to be scared of talking to him. "The **house** was spectacular. Overly so, it was massive for three people – and we didn't have the excuse of a big extended family. My father only ever bought the best and he covered the house in all the Malfoy heirlooms. It was insanity, and he wondered why I 'accidentally' broke them as I walked past. My bedroom was a bed, my wand, a closet and me in a room. That was about it." Scorpius smirked, remembering the awful place he grew up in.

"That sucks. You never had a real bedroom, seriously do not tell Hugo he might give you his. God, that's terrible. I can't imagine growing up without a proper room." She sighed, still shocked by the revelation. Rose had wondered why Scorpius had never discussed his home life more than was necessary, but she was starting to understand.

He grinned at her, easing the tension instantly. "Don't worry about it. I spent most of my time outside anyway. When my dad stopped using his broom, he just left it there, so naturally, I might have picked it up…"

Rose rolled her eyes, she knew perfectly well what could happened if a seven year old Scorpius had gotten hold of his father's broomstick. "How many windows?"

"Eight, but I really enjoyed myself, even when I shattered my father's diamond sculpture." Scorpius smiled at the memory.

"A diamond sculpture? You had a **diamond** sculpture? Okay, now I know what you mean by 'spectacular'. How did you put up with all that?" Rose scoffed. She was officially stunned – seriously, a diamond sculpture was way over the top.

He laughed, "oh yes we did. I had to put up with it. I had nowhere else to go. Remember, no friends, no other family. Not that the rest of my family would have been any better company anyway. They were all off their heads."

"They were stoned?" Rose asked skeptically.

"Nah, crazy."

"Fair enough. Shall we go downstairs, or would you like to consider marveling at the newly decorated attic?"

"Okay, let's go. No need to mock me now." He passed her and slid open the trapdoor. "You know, this is way cooler than a normal door." He commented before jumping through, not bothering with the ladder. Rose followed, using the more conventional method; not particularly keen on breaking her ankle. When she got there, Scorpius was nowhere in sight. She frowned, expecting him to jump out at her or something.

Hoping he was downstairs somewhere, she made her way past Hugo's room, past the bathroom, past the hall closet. The hall closet which emitted voices, angry voices. Or rather, an angry voice.

"What were you doing up there with her? What's going on between you two?" Rose heard her father interrogating her best friend in hushed yelled.

"Mr. Weasley, there is nothing more than friendship between your daughter and myself. There never has been. She doesn't see me that way." Scorpius insisted, still managing to remain respectful, though the underlying fury was threatening to reveal itself.

"And you? How do you see her?"

"I see her as the best friend anyone could ask for. She means more to me than anything, and I'll never hurt her." He vowed powerfully. Rose was stunned to the spot by the sincerity in his voice. She didn't notice her mother standing beside her.

"He really cares about you, you know. Just in case that last comment told you nothing." Hermione smiled at her daughter. She trusted Scorpius to look after Rose; he had been her best friend since day one – similar, she often thought, to Ron and Harry. Though she'd never known Scorpius and Rose to fight over entering the Triwizard Tournament. "Now, if you will excuse me."

Hermione took out her wand and burst the door down. "RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! KINDLY REMOVE OUR **GUEST** FROM THE AIRING CUPBOARD AND FIX THIS DOOR. THEN YOU MAY DE-GNOME THE GARDEN. **NOW**." Rose cringed at the sound so close to her ear. Ron emerged from the cupboard, his face pale and nervous. He slowly passed his wife, keeping eye contact and away from her wand. As soon as he got to the stairs he ran.

"I'm sorry for my husband's behavior, Scorpius. Rose, please convince your friend that your father is not going to kill him. Then occupy yourselves whilst I deal with your father. And at some point tell Hugo that he may unlock his bedroom because I am not going to hex him." Hermione tried her best to stay calm, but she was struggling.

Scorpius and Rose went to the window, and watched Hermione follow her husband into the garden where she fired hex after hex and shouted at him about 'being unprofessional' and 'behaving like a jealous boyfriend rather than a father.'

Rose sighed. "I'm sorry about them. You'll get used to it."

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**A/N: Please review x**


	6. Summer

**A/N: I know it's short, but I will make up for it next chapter. I don't know when I can get that up because I have exams, but hopefully by Monday. x**

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The summer passed quickly, when Rose thought about it. Scorpius had settled in nicely; just a few hiccups involving Ron and a stray kitchen knife, a potentially nasty incident neatly avoided by Scorpius' extremely fast reflexes. They spent a lot of time with James, Al, Freddie and Roxanne, all of whom where in Gryffindor and originally dislike Scorpius for no other reason than his heritage and the stories they'd been told growing up.

By the end of the holidays, no one would have believed that. James and Freddie in particular were highly complimentary of the two's original pranking ideas.

George Weasley was clearly the adult fondest of the youngest Malfoy. He had been extremely flattered by Rose and Scorpius' decoration of the History of Magic classroom in their first year, and had since covered the ceilings in all of his 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' with orange fur which had caused many positive reactions from the customers, except for the occasional asthma attack.

Ron was not in the least impressed by his brother's blatant delight at Scorpius. He did his best to avoid the boy, which was preferred, in general, for fear of Scorpius' physical safety.

"Hugo, come down. They've gone inside." Lily shouted up to her friend at the top of her lungs.

Hugo hovered above his house on his recently acquired broomstick. He'd told his parents that, now he was to be a third year, he would like to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and would therefore need his own broomstick.; his father had been more than happy to oblige – relieved that at least one of his children had taken some interest in the sport. Very few knew that Hugo actually had no intention of playing Quidditch; he just wanted a broom.

"No! They hexed it!" came the indignant response. Hugo was convinced that his sister and her friend had hexed his broom so that if her were to come within ten feet of the ground, it would explode with him still on it. This was utter nonsense, as Lily well knew.

But she understood Hugo's paranoia – Rose and Scorpius had been suspiciously near to the broom when he'd gone to retrieve it that morning. Unfortunately, only when he was in the air did it occur to him that they may have tampered with it.

"They never hexed it," she tried again wearily, "Hugo they wouldn't hurt you; your mum would kill them. This is exactly what they want. Come down Hugo, or **I'll** hex **you**, never mind the broom – Mum taught me the Bat Bogey hex the other day; let's just say I'm a natural."

Rose and Scorpius watched this rather entertaining scene unfold from the massive windows in Scorpius' attic bedroom. They'd done nothing to Hugo or his broom today, except stand beside it looking sheepish before making an excuse and running for it. They'd wondered just how long it would take Hugo to consider it; and they had their answer. Hugo was a stubborn boy, and Rose and Scorpius decided to play on that and see how long it would take Lily to convince him to come down.

Technically, they weren't allowed to use magic outside Hogwarts because they were underage. However, in a discussion as to how they could get around this rule, they came across the fact that all the time Scorpius had owned a wand whilst still living with his father, he'd used magic and not been attacked by the Ministry.

After some detailed research, they discovered that the Ministry could only detect where magic was performed – not who by. This meaning that they could use magic under the same roof as a qualified wizard or witch and be absolutely fine. So this is what they did.

Of course, it was unfortunate for James, Freddie and Roxanne – the three students still at Hogwarts who had turned seventeen. All pranks played by Scorpius and Rose generally got blamed on them. It was entirely plausible, since James and Freddie were a less imaginative version of the two fifteen year olds.

The two would have quite happily stayed looking at Hugo's increasingly uncertain face, but unfortunately they were interrupted. The trapdoor vibrated with the constant banging against it, and although the first thought that crossed Rose's mind was to jinx whoever it was, she decided against it in case it was her mother. Rose was not a fan of lifetime grounding.

"Rose! Scorpius! Get down here this instant. And both of you bring your wands." The voice of Hermione Weasley rang through the room loud and clear, accompanied by an ominous echo – seemingly only present in this room.

Grumbling to themselves and each other incomprehensibly about injustice, Rose and Scorpius picked themselves up off the floor and, with on last glance at Hugo – who hadn't inched nearer to the ground, only become more agitated – they descended to the landing to face her wrath. They weren't entirely sure why their wands were necessary equipment, but they had a feeling it related to the second year floating above them.

"Wands." Hermione demanded as Rose jumped off the ladder. They handed their most personal possessions and wordlessly, and hoped beyond hope that she wouldn't lose her temper and snap them. "Priori Incantatem" she said, pointing her own wand at the two she held in her left hand. This incantation was new to the soon to be fifth years, but it didn't take long for them to work out what it did.

They watched their wands closely to see any noticeable changes in them. Was she restricting the power? Eliminating the magic altogether? Leaving them mere sticks? Rose gasped softly, Scorpius' jaw dropped. They gazed, awed at the puffs of wispy cloud which came out of each of their wands.

The smoke morphed itself to reveal the spells they'd cast over the last week, beginning with the 'muffliato' charm Scorpius had cast on the attic the previous night so no one would eavesdrop on their conversation as to how to top their fourth year start of term prank.

That, they'd decided, was, in itself, a dilemma. Not having a feast had been a pretty impressive achievement, as was the disruption of the transport system for the first years the year before. In second year they had set pixies lose in the Great Hall – it wasn't their best, but good for a first attempt. And now they were stuck. They'd spent hours in the attic considering the options; now they had a week before they went back and no ideas.

Rose and Scorpius shuffled uncomfortably, as Hermione glared at them. The wands revealed everything they'd gotten away with that summer. She now knew the real culprits behind the mysterious disappearance of Lily's suitcase when the Potters had come to stay.

She knew what had actually happened when Albus had 'fallen' off his broom into the pond, and of course, it didn't take a genius to work out why all of her case studies had ended up as blackbirds.

"Well? Are you going to explain?"

Three hours later, Rose and Scorpius sat in Rose's room doing nothing. They'd been lucky, in fact, to be allowed in the same room at all. Unfortunately, it wasn't much good, as the troublemakers both had a silencing charm on them so nothing could be discussed verbally.

Their wands had been confiscated 'until further notice' and neither had quite grasped wandless magic yet. On the bright side, although almost everything had been removed safe for the bed, Rose had somehow managed to scrounge up a quill, but no paper, so had resulted to writing on the bed sheet; she'd be able to get it off when she had her wand back.

They were left in peace for the entire night – somehow Hermione had convinced her husband that this was safe – and by the end of the evening, they had successfully chosen their prank for the beginning of their fifth year. It had been a difficult choice between two, both very strong contenders, but due to lack of time, they decided to go with the simpler one.

It was similar to their last years choice, but probably more effective and since they lacked a decent time frame it was acceptable. They may have lacked a feast for fourth year, but at least the teachers had conjured up something. This time they wouldn't be able to do anything. After pulling a very convincing act, the two had persuaded the Weasleys to allow them to leave for King's Cross early on the morning of September 1st.

It had been relatively simple when they'd mentioned to Ron that Scorpius owned a pet spider and therefore had to put him in the confined area so he wouldn't massacre the first years when they opened his cage. "It happens." Scorpius had explained bluntly when gazed at suspiciously.

At twenty to eleven, Scorpius and Rose ran at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Ron and Hermione had an emergency meeting at the ministry. The emergency forged by a fake letter arriving by Scorpius' owl transfigured from an old kettle. They had dropped Rose, Scorpius and Hugo off at half past ten, and rushed off.

It was rather convenient, when they thought about it. They'd been lucky once more, but they weren't complaining. It was just going to plan. The train was already there, it always was. They'd been early in second year but for entirely different reasons.

"Go, get on the train Hugo. We're going to wish Al luck." It was partially true, in the sense that they were going to see Albus who was a Prefect this year, however, Albus wasn't here yet. But Hugo didn't have to know that. "Take my trunk, I'm going to go reset the charm on the engine. That is how it's powered, right?"

"Yes, I read it in the new version of Hogwarts: A History. They **really** shouldn't leave information like that lying around." Scorpius shook his head in disbelief. It was incredible how dim the supposed professors could be at times. He took Rose's trunk and levitated Wings' cage beside him.

After putting them in storage, he found the compartment they'd agreed on to wait for Rose. She entered moments later, a triumphant expression on her face.

"Success?"

"Success."

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**A/N: Please review! x**


	7. The Map

**A/N: Ok it's slightly short again, but necessary. Exams are now over so I should be able to update more regularly! Yey! Please give feedback x**

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The train jumped to life, smoke rising from the scarlet red barrel atop it. The students on board were jostled slightly, not quite expecting it; all except for three, two of which knew exactly what was going on. The third wasn't particularly surprised.

It was fifteen minutes to eleven.

Lysander Scamander watched his best friends as wide grins spread slowly across their faces. Frankly, he'd known it was coming. They'd had to do something, obviously, so why not prevent eighty per cent of the school's population from catching the train? He shook his head, already dreading sixth year.

They never told him what they were planning, and he was perfectly happy with it that way. It wasn't that they didn't trust him, just that it wasn't fair for him to undergo investigation for their deeds just because he hung around with them. If he didn't know, then he couldn't crack and give them away. It was safer. That, and it was far more exciting to see what they did as a surprise rather than to be in on it.

"Brilliant, Rose! I swear, that was incredible! Look at all the tossers on the platform." Scorpius exclaimed, pure joy lighting his dark features. Lysander had always thought it odd that he was so different to his parents. Even the different skin tone. He never let his suspicion on, and from what he saw, Scorpius never changed. But still there was the underlying uncertainty.

Rose and Scorpius gazed delightedly out of the window at the fast moving station. There were those running to keep up with the train, some desperately casting every spell known to man in a frantic attempt to stop it. They watched the panicked faces become more panicked as the train chugged out of the station, slowly accelerating, leaving them all behind.

They collapsed back into their seats, very proud of their achievement. They were met with Lysander's penetrating glare. "You won't get away with this one."

"You said that last time, Sand." Scorpius reminded him, in a drawl that portrayed boredom. It was true, every time they'd bent the rules Lysander had been entertained, but always always remained responsible, and reprimanded them incessantly for their actions.

"Scor, you got caught last time. But this time it's staring them right in the face! Only about a hundred students are on the train, including you two. What are they supposed to think?" Sure it was logical, Rose thought, but they'd considered that. She and Scorpius were improving – rarely making the same mistake twice.

"Sand we thought this through. Over the summer, Scor and I may have gotten grounded for… various things. And Mum used this spell on our wands to see what we'd last cast. We researched it, this "Priori Incantatem" and we found a counter active spell. It erases all the spells we recently used. Look." She drew her wand, and and Scorpius leaned across, pointing his own at hers.

"Priori Incantatem" he muttered, and the wispy smoke came out of Rose's wand, reveling only Scourgify and Lumos.

"See, it doesn't show the Confundus charm I used on the driver. They can suspect us, be they can never prove it without Veritaserum which is illegal to use on students. We covered our tracks well, Sand. It's cool." Rose explained to him.

Lysander thought about this; there seemed to be no loopholes. Maybe they'd actually be successful with this one. He was about to argue – albeit pointlessly; he couldn't find anything wrong with their plan; it seemed totally idiot proof – when the compartment door opened, revealing a pretty fourth year Gryffindor girl.

"Lysander Scamander?" She asked quietly, timidity coating her voice. Rose assessed the situation quickly, and turned to look out of the window at the passing fields, hiding her laughs.

Lysander raised his hand in greeting, completely oblivious to the slow blush creeping up the younger girl's neck. She had long blonde hair – not unlike Rose's aunt Fleur's – and startling green eyes; a deeper shade of Albus'. She twisted her hands together in front of her, looking down at her feet.

Scorpius had now cottoned on, slower than Rose, but obviously faster than Lysander who looked at the girl curiously, hoping he hadn't scared her or something, as far as he knew, he'd been only polite; he hadn't wanted to intimidate her.

"Um, I was, well… did you, would you like to come sit with me?" the words flew out of her mouth, and she looked up at him as she said it, apparently having gained a sudden streak of courage. Lysander blinked, shock covering his relatively pail complexion. Whatever he'd been expecting, it hadn't been this.

Scorpius hung his head in mock shame, "Oh for the love of God." He muttered to himself when it became clear that Lysander had failed to move. The girl's blush now covered her pale expression as she slowly backed out of the door.

"No, no." Rose said to her – having recovered her composure – she dragged the girl back in, just in time to see Scorpius standing over Lysander, soaking him with water from his wand.

"He's all yours." He smiled to the small blonde girl, gently pushing his sopping wet friend towards her, ignoring his menacing glare – although he noticed Rose's and cast a quick, reluctant drying charm as Lysander disappeared with the girl out of the door. Scorpius slid it shut behind them before collapsing onto the seat opposite Rose. "Oh God!" he said between fits of laughter, "his face was priceless! What was he expecting?!"

Rose grinned, half at the memory of Lysander's reaction, and half at the immaturity of her best friend. " Really, Scor, he's fifteen. It's not unusual! Just because **you** ignore every offer you get – and you can't deny there are plenty – doesn't mean Sand has to. You're different people."

"Yeah, but it's Sand, isn't it?" he stated, as if this solved everything, "I dunno, I guess he just didn't strike me as a ladies' man."

"How would sitting with one girl make him a ladies' man? I think they'll be happy together. That was Amelia Rumi; she's the year above Hugo. Al said that James asked her out once and she turned him down. I guess we know why now – apparently James was shocked; not many turn him down. If anyone's a ladies' man it's him. But she's obviously shy – so is Sand to an extent. That's probably why she waited until now to talk to him; her friends might not be on the train. They make a good, modest match. They probably wouldn't have a flamboyant relationship that they could flaunt across the castle, but there's nothing wrong with that."

Scorpius just watched her come to this conclusion. Then he nodded briefly, "let's go find Al" and that was it. he considered what Rose had said about them making a good match, and realized that she was right. If Amelia was all the things Rose had said she was, then she was perfect for Lysander. She'd obviously liked him for a while but never said anything; as far as he knew they'd only ever spoken in passing.

Scorpius wondered, as the scoured the corridor for Al, whether he'd be the same. Would he fall for someone totally random and not know why until he knew them? He didn't think so, that just didn't seem like him. It was more likely to be someone already close to him, someone he knew well.

"He's not in prefects," Rose announced, emerging from the previously locked compartment. Of course, neither of them had become prefects because they 'caused too much trouble'. It was fair enough, they thought, but they weren't about to give up their livelihood for a badge.

"I guess there aren't enough prefects here. They've probably been owling Hogwarts from the station on the off chance that the birds will get to Hogsmeade before us. Is his trunk in there?"

"Yes… why?" Rose asked, very suspicious. They never pulled anything without forward planning – that could be disastrous.

"No reason." Scorpius shifted past her into the compartment and crouched by Al's brown trunk. She knew he wouldn't do anything that Rose couldn't prevent or reverse, she followed him back in blocking out the windows with her wand as she went.

They heaved open Al's trunk for with no particular purpose in mind and saw the usual array of robes, socks, shoes, stray owl treats and random sickles. A crumpled piece of parchment lay on top; Rose picked it off and unfolded it gently – careful not to tear it. "It's blank." She frowned, "revealio" she said, poking it with her wand repeatedly. Words appeared on it, and she and Scorpius bent their heads together to read.

Mr. Padfoot wonders how a Malfoy came to be in possession of this.

"Hey! I'm hardly a Malfoy!" Scorpius yell/whispered indignantly.

Mr. Padfoot corrects himself. Mr. Padfoot wonders how a **fake** Malfoy came to be in possession of this.

Scorpius snorted, but was unable to reply due to the silencing charm Rose had cast. "I know what this is; Uncle Harry said it was called the Marauder's Map. I know how to get in, just read first." She hissed, hoping to pacify him long enough to read the letters which continued to appear.

Mr. Prongs wonders how Mr. Fake-Malfoy came to be so whipped.

Mr. Moony wonders how Mr. Ron Weasley would react to this relationship.

Mr. Prongs hopes the conversation in which Mr. Ron Weasley is informed will be relayed to the Messers.

Mr. Padfoot wonders why Mr. Fake-Malfoy and Miss Weasley were rooting through Mr. Potter's belongings, thus taking the joy of doing so away from Mr. Wormtail.

Mr. Prongs would like to inform Mr. Fake-Malfoy and Miss Weasley that Mr. Wormtail is otherwise engaged in the infirmary nursing his lack of a brain.

Scorpius burst out in laughter at that. He was strong enough to override the silencing charm after just a few minutes, unfortunately. Rose was very rarely impressed by this. It reminded her of how her uncle Harry was stronger than the Imperius curse.

"Come on, Scor. Let's take the map and go." She tugged on his sleeve.

"What?! No, it's Al's, we can't just take it!"

"Oh, please. The year before I came to Hogwarts, Al and I saw Uncle Harry use it to see what James was up to. How else would I know how to use it? anyway, he told my dad that he'd never give it to his kids because they'd get in too much trouble. Al stole it already, Scor. Let's go!"

With no sight of Albus returning, they slipped out and back into their own compartment. "Well, how does it work, then? What does it do?" Scorpius asked, a familiar glint in his deep brown eyes. He knew that they wouldn't have taken the map if it wasn't worth it.

Technically it wasn't Al's property so they were well within their rights-ish to take it.

Rose didn't look at him. She drew her wand and tapped the blank parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." She whispered. As Scorpius watched, the map slowly revealed green markings, which appeared on the page as if someone was writing on it. He leaned closer to read the front, but Rose opened it out before he could.

"See? It's a map of Hogwarts." She pointed to a moving dot labeled Professor McGonagall, "There's the Headmistress in her study."

"Wow. This is awesome. Look, there's Filch!" he pointed to another dot skulking around the dungeons. "This is going to be so useful this year." Scorpius grinned, already looking forward to it.

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**A/N: So what did you think? Please review x**


	8. Dawning

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has added this on story alert/favorites. It would be great if you could review as well! x**

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"Bloody hell, Rose! What are you doing? It's 2 am!" Scorpius hissed from beneath her as Rose knocked him to the floor in her hurry. He was hit by a powerful scent of her perfume and was momentarily dazed. When he eventually pulled himself together, she was standing over him, reaching for his hand.

"Damn it, Scor. Why are you down here? I haven't got time for this." She sighed, dragging him to his feet. She turned once again towards the portrait hole in the hope of leaving. Instead, Scorpius kept a firm hold on her wrist, and forced her to look back at him.

"Where are you going at this time? What could be so important that it can't wait 'til morning?"

She glared at him, then at his hand which had still not released hers. She knew, inside her, that he only cared for her safety. But right now she just didn't want to know. "Scor let me go." She requested as softly as possible, trying to hide the underlying warning tone. It was more of a demand than a question, but Scorpius refused.

He shook his head, a stubborn look on his face; when it came to a duel they were pretty evenly matched. He wasn't going to give in, especially while she was being so evasive. If she was going out to cause trouble then she'd have told him. **Obviously **he wouldn't rat her out. The only reason he wouldn't be allowed to know where she was going was if he wouldn't approve it.

Scorpius saw her other hand, the one he wasn't holding, twitch towards her robe pocket and her wand but not actually go to take it. He was perceptive, and he'd notice if she did. They both knew that Scorpius had faster reflexes, but he wasn't sure he'd be prepared to defend himself at her expense.

"Tell me where you're going. We do everything together, what could possibly be so bad that I can't know?"

"I have someone to see." She informed him, face blank and as expressionless as her words. This was why they'd arranged to talk **now**, she thought, so that Scorpius wouldn't get in the way. It could get pretty nasty if he got involved, but it seemed like that had backfired sufficiently enough.

She may have sounded cold or harsh, but now wasn't the time. She had somewhere to be, and if Scorpius got in the way she would not hesitate to hex him. Obviously she'd rather not hurt him – or risk him harming her – but if it came to that she would do it.

Realization finally dawned, and Scorpius knew that he'd preferred the ignorance. He knew there wasn't much he could do to stop her. But he could follow her.

"Fine, Rose. Go. But if he hurts you, then he will have lost all masculinity by morning. Don't worry; I'll see to that and I'm sure your cousins will as well." He let her go and watched as she nodded, smiled slightly and climbed through the portrait hole.

A new realization blew over Scorpius, only slightly brighter than the last. It was encased in a bubble of sickening jealously but he could still make it out. It was warm, and made him shiver. Painful, and yet it made him smile. It was love, and it had timed its appearance really, really badly.

Scorpius sank down into one of the big, squashy, blue chairs opposite the fire which crackled away merrily as he basked in his disappointing cliché of a life. He'd always assumed that if he fell in love he would know about it instantly. How was it possible that he'd known Rose for almost six years and he'd never seen her how he did tonight?

Love was ridiculous, he thought, but there was clearly nothing he could do about it now. He was too far gone – however sudden it had been, there was no changing his feelings and he wasn't going to let her fall through the cracks. If she returned his love, he would discover that today.

He picked up the letter he'd been reading before Rose had entered, and scanned it once more.

Scorpius,

You shall be spending the Easter holidays of your sixth year with me in Norway. I received a message from your father after he cast you from the family, and I am inclined to say that I think it is better for you if you leave England for a while.

When you visit, we shall decide whether or not it is a good idea for you to return to Hogwarts for your seventh and final year.

I would appreciate it if I received no more letters from Minerva McGonagall informing me that you have been levitating the giant squid.

With love, Mother

How was he going to explain to his mother that he didn't want to leave the woman he loved, who happened to be a Weasley? Sure, she'd be marginally more understanding than his father, but she didn't rejoice at the idea of 'blood traitors' much less falling in love with them.

And he'd become comfortable with his current image; he hadn't turned into his original pale, blond self since he'd received the letter from his father disowning him. Since then, he'd stayed with Rose and the Weasleys during school holidays and they'd been the best days of his life.

The house was always lively and warm, it always smelt of Mr Weasley's cooking, and he'd been able to relax; not tensing every time someone came in the room in fear of his grandfather. He didn't want to go to Norway; he'd barely thought of his mother since he'd last seen his father.

When he'd been disinherited, the only Malfoy part of him was his name and he planned to keep it that way. He wasn't about to be dragged back into a family full of regret, ambition and deceit. Making his decision, he took a quill and a pot of ink from the coffee table, and replied on the back of the letter.

Mother,

I will not be staying with you this Easter; for one reason, I dislike Norway. For another, I already have arrangements for these holidays. My seventeenth birthday is in three weeks, from which point I make my own decisions. I have always liked to keep 'ahead of the game' to use a Muggle expression.

I apologise for any effort you may have gone to for my visit, and also for disappointing you. But I am in love, and I refuse to leave England.

Scorpius

He cast his eyes back over it; it was a pretty pitiful explanation, but it would have to do. She didn't have to know the technical details such as the fact that Rose didn't exactly reciprocate his feelings. "Shit, I'm pathetic." He muttered to himself, leaning his head back on the head rest of the seat.

"Yeah, you are. Seriously, this **is** a first draft, right? Not actually **sending** this are you?" Lysander drawled from behind the chair. Scorpius flew to his feet, knocking the ink to the floor. "Smooooth." The sandy haired boy commented, a smirk on his face.

"So, you and Rosie woke me up with your ranting this morning. **Love** is it, Malfoy?" he asked, glancing back at the letter on the table and putting two and two together. "Well, can't say I'm surprised. Get on with it then." He handed a piece of parchment to Scorpius, who just looked at it, confused. He raised an eyebrow in question.

"Take it and go." Lysander commanded, throwing Scorpius out of the common room, calling after him, "I got Amelia thanks to you – I owe you mate so don't screw it up." Scorpius got to his feet and dusted himself down for the second time that evening – well, morning – and unfolded the parchment his friend had thrust into his hands.

It was the map, he realized, noticing the distinctive rips and tears he'd grown to know so well this year. Scorpius considered what Lysander had told him. It couldn't be denied that he and Rose had helped Lysander's non existent love life a great deal. He had been with Amelia for six months or so now, and they were so happy that at times it was sickening.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Scorpius poked the tatty sheet with his wand and the map sprang to life. A two dimensional image drew itself up on the parchment in green scripture, labelling the small moving dots as it went.

He scanned the Gryffindor Tower; seeing an array of dots overlapping one another as the students slept. It was much the same in the Slytherin dungeons and the Hufflepuff quarters by the kitchen. The majority of movement was the house elves, who appeared to be cooking breakfast already and putting out fires in the common rooms for the warm day ahead.

All the teachers were either in their offices sleeping or – in the case of Professor Binns – roaming the staffroom waiting for the day to begin. Various ghosts floated aimlessly about the castle, and Scorpius wondered if Rose had left the school.

It wouldn't surprise him; it would be very much like her to break rules for the sake of a boyfriend. But it wasn't likely that she would risk it unless she actually cared about him. And if that were the case, she wouldn't be so ashamed that she couldn't mention it to friends or family or even see him in daylight hours.

Knowing he would have no chance of finding her unless he actually started moving, he wandered around up and down staircases, through potentially interesting corridors, all the while studying the map in the hope that her name would just jump out at him.

As the hours went on, it grew lighter and lighter whilst Scorpius' mood decreased. He was just considering summoning her, when her name emerged from what appeared to be a blank space on the seventh floor. Scorpius ran back the way he'd just been, muttering an apology in the direction of a bemused Nearly Headless Nick as he ran through him.

He flew up the staircase, four at a time and was on the point of collapsing as he reached the seventh floor. Walking as stealthily as he could whilst gasping for oxygen, he glanced at the map once again to see Rose's labelled dot walking towards him.

Had he not just sprinted up six flights of stairs, he would have moved – not wanting to be caught following the friend he supposedly trusted. But he was immobilized; not in the literal sense – if he'd wanted to move he could have done – but his brain had evidently commanded his feet to do no such thing, and there he stood.

He was concentrating more on where Rose had come out of; still waiting for the mysterious boy she went to meet to follow her. But he never did. Scorpius frowned; had he misinterpreted something? If he had spent the past three hours following his best friend out of jealously; only to discover that this jealously was wasted, this would not end well.

"What do you think you're doing, Malfoy?" Rose's voice came from behind him; and it was furious. He still didn't move – now out of fear rather than concentration. He closed his eyes in desperation, normally he was very good at lying, but Rose knew him better than anyone and now that he'd been enlightened of his love for her, he knew he wouldn't be able to carry it off.

He turned slowly on the spot and met her fierce, icy glare. Her deep blue eyes were like the sea frozen over. "Rose, I – I didn't mean – I mean – well..." he shut his mouth as the look hardened. There were very few times that he was afraid of her; but this was certainly one of them.

"You followed me." It wasn't a question; her eyes darted swiftly to the map still open in his hands and back to his face again. "Why, Scor? Do you not trust me at all? What did you think I was going to do?" she demanded, the anger slightly marred by hurt and betrayal.

Scorpius took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself, before responding "I was scared. I had no idea what you were going to do, that's what scared me. Of course I trust you, but when you're creeping out at two in the morning what am I supposed to think?

"I just came to look for you because when I checked the map I couldn't see you anywhere." He spoke fast, falling over the words as they fell out of his mouth. Her hand got closer to her wand with every syllable. Scorpius wasn't sure whether this was consciously or not, but he really didn't want to take the risk.

"Scor, you're scared **now**. You're scared of **me**!" a small smile twitched her bottom lip and she tried very hard to hide it. Although angry, she was slightly touched that he'd been wandering around for almost three hours looking for her when she would not appear on the map.

She'd known she wouldn't be seen on the map, but she'd also known that Scorpius wouldn't know that. But in her defence, she'd honestly thought he would just drop it. She hadn't expected him to go to that trouble.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, Scor. Please, you've known me for five and a half years now and I have not once intentionally hurt you. Grow up." She added rolling her eyes. She was rather enjoying his fear – he shouldn't have followed her, so Rose had the right to make him suffer for it – this seemed to be working well enough so why go to the effort of causing physical pain.

He noticed the temptation on her face to smile; the icy seas melting, and he relaxed considerably. "So where were you? Am I allowed to know now after walking the entire castle multiple times this morning?"

She grinned at him; how ever much he tried to appear nonchalant in his enquiry, he couldn't hide his interest and curiosity. "It's not important. If you must know, I was talking with my Dad. We prefer to talk face to face as opposed to owling so we talked in the Room of Requirement." She shrugged it off, smiling inwardly at his widening eyes.

"You **found **it? And you didn't tell me? Well now I'm hurt." He frowned, more than disappointed. They were the closest couple in the school without actually being a couple and he was extremely frustrated that she'd kept this from him. They'd been looking for the room ever since last summer when they'd heard Rose's parents discussing it, but it had never been on the map.

"I'm telling you now, aren't I? I didn't want you to know because it's the only place I can talk to Dad without someone else overhearing or getting interrupted by one of my many cousins.

"But now I think you deserve to know – not many people would search in the early morning for someone who appears to have left the place entirely." She smiled at him, hoping she was forgiven. Not that he had any right to bear a grudge – he **had** followed her after she asked him to leave her alone.

"Well can we go there, then? I want to see it." He told her, wrapping his fingers around her wrist, pulling her to a stop beside him and looking into her eyes.

Rose felt something twist inside her when he did that. It surprised her; she'd never felt anything like it before. There were sparks running up and down her arm where his hand gripped her – it should have hurt, but it couldn't have felt more natural. His eyes were filled with an alarming intensity, one she'd never seen before, nor even known he was capable of.

She should have been able to take her hand back, or at least try to, as she had done earlier in the common room. But her will power was gone – she didn't **want** to take it back. She couldn't even blink or look away to clear her head. She was trapped, shocked and nervous, but she had never felt more comfortable.

Scorpius stared down into her eyes, and that was it. There was no going back; her face was pale in the dimly lit corridor, her lips a deep red. Her eyes conveyed confusion and uncertainty as she gazed back into his own. He saw her looking desperately for answers, eyes flicking between his, silently questioning the situation.

Without thinking, or even consciously allowing his arm to do so, Scorpius released her hand and placed his on her neck, the other on her waist bringing her closer. She should have flinched; she expected herself to flinch; in any circumstance such as this Rose would undoubtedly flinch. But she didn't, she didn't move. The feeling of his warm hand on the back of her neck calmed her – however surprising that was, neither showed it.

Rose's breath caught in her throat as she continued losing herself in his eyes. She'd never seen Scorpius the way she was seeing him now. How did this happen so suddenly? She didn't want to feel like this; she didn't even know she could. She was overwhelmed by this open display of whatever it was.

Scorpius had never behaved like this towards her or any other girl. He'd never dated, to the best of her knowledge, and he'd rarely shown any romantic interest in girls or boys. She had begun to convince herself that he just didn't love. After his upbringing it wouldn't surprise her, though it upset her that he may never be happy with someone.

But this theory was slowly disappearing as she was hit by waves of lust for the boy holding her so tightly. She thought of nothing but him, saw only him, could hear just his shaky breathing and his heartbeat, his arms encircling her was all she could feel, and the only smell was that of the young man she'd spent her whole school life with as a friend. Now that was going to change.

With a sudden rush of confidence and determination, Rose stretched up slowly, cautioning him with her eyes, and kissed him softly, conveying as much passion without shocking him. When he got over the surprise, Scorpius kissed her back slightly more fiercely, and held her as close as he could.

It was astonishing at how much energy they seemed to have at six in the morning, having had little if any sleep, but the adrenaline kept them going and they soon forgot where they were. They only ever broke apart for air.

"Finally! Didn't think you would make it back." Lysander greeted them suggestively as they fell into the common room. They stumbled around, taking in their surroundings and the boy grinning at the pair from the stairs. "Wow. You guys were really going at it, huh. Seriously you two are a mess." He said trying to hide his laughter at their tousled hair and swollen lips.

"Shut up, Sand." Rose hissed, a blush creeping up her neck. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. Lysander just grinned, unperturbed. They all turned to the stairs in time to see Louis enter, rubbing his eyes from sleep.

He glanced at his cousin by the portrait hole before clamping his arm across his eyes, "Oh, dear Lord. I don't have to see this! Corruption of innocence!" he yelled, flying back up the stairs at an astounding speed.

Lysander watched as he passed him, an amused look on his face. "No, I'm happy for you two, really. But try and keep your clothes on when you're in company, alright? We don't need Louis to have a heart failure." He told them, still grinning; only happiness in his eyes.

He was thrilled that his friends had finally seen reason, but he was not looking forward to the public displays of affection sure to follow. Rose and Scorpius were more confident than Amelia and him, and were more likely to exhibit their relationship – it wasn't only Louis who would get sick from seeing that.

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**A/N: Please review x**


	9. Early Mornings

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A/N: Sorry it took so long again. I finished it, then accidentally deleted the second half. Anyway, enjoy! x

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Keeping their relationship between themselves, Louis and Lysander was not nearly as simple as Rose and Scorpius had hoped. Of course, Lysander couldn't lie to Amelia, and Louis blurted it out to his entire dormitory when he ran away the night the couple came together. Therefore, the news had spread, and four days later, even the ghosts were discussing it as they slipped silently through walls, eavesdropping on various conversations.

Naturally, Hugo and Albus responded poorly to the revelation; over the next few weeks, Scorpius had to seek refuge behind suits of armor and polish his shield charm so as not to spend his Easter break in the Hospital Wing. Lily and Freddie both collected twelve galleons from James, who regularly threw menacing glares in Scorpius' general direction. Only Lysander and Amelia seemed genuinely happy to see the two together.

Even the teachers struggled to hide their displeasure; Professor McGonagall's face turned twelve shades of furious red when the pair entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning, fingers entwined. Noticing the Head's unhealthy color, Scorpius had proceeded to tilt Rose's chin toward him and kiss her lips softly. The reaction disappointed no one; the Headmistress fell off her chair at the High Table and accidently dragged a jug of pumpkin juice with her.

A week later in the staff meeting, Professor McGonagall addressed the situation to the faculty. It was rare that the professors paid any interest to the romantic lives of the students, but this was a unique state of affairs ."I am confident that each and every one of you is aware, by now, of the relationship between Mr. Malfoy and the eldest Miss Weasley. I would like you to consider this when giving detentions, for example. I believe that you, Neville, issued them with the task of repotting mandrakes or similar on Saturday evening, and returned two hours later to find the in a rather compromising position under your desk."

She glared pointedly at the well-like Herbology teacher, as though he was to blame for teenage hormones. Neville shuddered at the memory; he'd been unprepared and had almost given himself a heart attack that night. It had really not been a worthwhile detention; they may have been caught dropping Kappas in plastic bags into the First Years' pockets, but the chore hadn't even been completed, and Neville was too shocked to keep them on.

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Lysander was lying in bed asleep – as was most of the castle at three in the morning. He was peaceful; dreaming about flying pygmy-puffs, because really – who doesn't? He was awoken by various repetitive noises emanating from above him.

It sounded remarkably like a fight taking place at first, but when he listened closer, he could hear the overly passionate moans which could only feature in sexual activity. Lysander, unlike the rest of the boys in his dorm, did not cover his ears ant turn green or start laughing.

Instead, he looked instantly to the bed which was usually occupied by his best friend. As expected, it was empty. He rolled his eyes, and hoped to Merlin that they got caught; he was not a morning person.

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Rose stood in the middle of the Divination classroom. She had a flowing sheet wrapped tightly around her, held up by one hand. The other flicked her wand around the room, sending various objects crashing to the floor, and creating suggestive thuds.

She struggled to keep from laughing; it had been her idea to forge a sex scene, and it was working even better than she'd anticipated. Scorpius could be heard in the next room lobbing crystal balls at the door before repairing them. After about half an hour, Rose heard people start waking up below.

The soft mutterings between friends all over the castle steadily mounted to a low buzz that could be heard where they were. They continued trashing the place until they heard footsteps approaching. Rose ran back to the teaching desk at the corner of the room and grabbed the map which they had left open. It indicated that there were three people who were on their way up the stairs to the classroom.

Her cousin James was one of the three, and was accompanied by Professor McGonagall and Argus Filch. Mrs. Norris could hardly be considered a person, but she was marked as well. She put her wand to her neck and whispered, "Quietus" and her voice had returned to a normal volume, "Scor, get in here." She hissed, not looking up. The crashing of crystal globes stopped instantly, and she heard the creeping footsteps until he was beside her.

She looked up at him, to meet his 'concentrating face', this meant that his brow furrowed and he stared down at the parchment in her hands, not to be disturbed. She waited patiently, watching as he occasionally brushed the stray dark lock out of his eyes. Eventually, she got tired of just standing there; James was speeding up and nearly at the trapdoor which would expose them.

"Well? Scor they're nearly here! What do we do?" she whisper/shouted. They had perfected the art of keeping their voice low despite their agitation or nerves. If they were to avoid detection, they had to speak quietly enough so they wouldn't be found.

But right now, Rose was struggling to contain her irritation. She wasn't exactly looking forward to James seeing her in this position. Even though she and Scorpius hadn't **done **anything as such, it was unlikely that James would believe her, especially considering their current attire.

"We don't do anything. Seriously, Rose, what are they going to do? Unless you have some spectacular spell up your sleeve – metaphorically – that will enable us to turn invisible or fly without a broom, we should just try and lie our way out of it. It's no big deal; we've been caught before." He shrugged, as though this really wasn't a big deal. Unfortunately, Rose disagreed.

"Have you seen who's on the map? **James **is with them. Do you have a death wish or something? And we've been caught too many times; this is a really bad one to be caught on. What if they owl our parents again and tell them what we were supposedly doing?" she spoke in desperation, trying to convey the danger of the situation they'd cleverly gotten themselves into.

Scorpius just smiled slightly, his eyes unfocused as he imagined Professor McGonagall try to put into words what she suspected they'd been up to. That would be a letter worth reading, especially over his father's shoulder. Nothing could be more entertaining than that.

He was distracted from this delightful image by Rose snapping her fingers repeatedly in front of his face, clearly impatient. Being the overgrown child that he was; Scorpius decided to play along, making his face as blank and expressionless as he could. By not blinking or implying that he was aware of her presence, he merely angered her more.

Rose continued pushing and flicking her boyfriend, trying to get any kind of reaction out of him. Nothing. "Damn it Scor. There's a time and a place for this." She muttered under her breath. Seeing no other alternative, she reached up, and kissed him quickly, hoping to surprise him back into reality. He took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her and kiss her back with such force that she was totally immersed.

"Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley; well I should have guessed." The couple broke apart, splitting across the room like shrapnel at the sound of the Headmistress' voice. "Are you aware that you have woken up the entire castle with your…antics?" she shrieked, though managing to keep her voice to a relatively low degree.

"Ah, damn!" Scorpius slapped his hand across his forehead. "**That's **what 'Sonorous' does." He rolled his eyes as if he'd been really stupid. "I knew it had something to do with the voice…" he trailed off into a thought which probably didn't exist.

"Uh, yeah. We were just practicing and got a little… distracted." Rose added with the appropriate amount of embarrassment. She and Scorpius were extremely talented actors now and they were rarely caught out for lying.

"Yes, we had established the distraction." Professor McGonagall spat, her eyes throwing lightning bolts. "Would like to enlighten us as to why you are **here** at four o'clock in the morning."

"Neither of us could sleep so we figured we'd brush up on our charms. This room seemed adequate since it was far away. Of course, one thing led to another and…" Scorpius shrugged, gesturing wordlessly with his hands to get his point across.

Rose bit her lip to prevent from laughing. Even at the worst of times, he still managed to take the piss out of the circumstances. "Yeah, we're sorry for waking everyone up. And for any mental scaring we may have caused." She said seriously, looking dead into the Headmistress' eyes.

"I see." She said sharply, bluntly, not buying any of it. "Mr. Filch and I were on our way to the source of the… disturbance, and we came across Mr. Potter." She gestured for James to talk. "Mr. Potter, I believe you have your own opinions on the situation?"

"Uh, yes." James spoke for the first time, looking unnaturally uncomfortable. "Could I speak with them alone, please, Professor?"

She looked at him frostily. "I suppose so. Mr. Malfoy, Miss Weasley, I will see you in my office at ten this morning. We will have no repetition of this incident, you may rest assured." The Headmistress glared at them, before gesturing to Filch to leave.

James rounded on them, and Rose braced herself for a total bollocking. James was not known for holding back, and she feared his reaction far more than Professor McGonagall's. "Rosie, you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do." He told her gravely, voice dripping with disappointment.

Rose felt guilt wash over her, she hated that she had upset one of her favorite cousins. She opened her mouth to apologize. "No, not to **me**." James stopped her, "I know you weren't actually going at it, but you might want to convince Hugo of that."

Rose's shoulders relaxed; she was relieved that James, at least, understood but was also nervous; he clearly wasn't finished. "Which leads me to my next point." He continued, "I was going about my business; hiding Freddie's Defense essay – that kind of thing, when I hear some very interesting noises." He winked knowingly at them, "brushing over that swiftly, Hugo comes down and asks me what it is – poor, naïve child – and I tell him that it is probably you two.

"Naturally, he takes this as confirmation that you are doing stuff that your father would not approve of, and heads towards the portrait hole, ducking so as not to hit his abnormally large head on the ceiling. I, being the friendly, responsible, mature cousin that I am full body bound him and came here myself to inform you that it was quite a pitiful attempt."

"HEY! It was not pitiful! McGonagall swallowed it, didn't she?!" Scorpius yelled indignantly, speaking for the first time since the three were left alone. Rose jumped at his sudden outburst, and he rested his hands on her waist, reflexively trying to relax her. James' eyebrows raised at the gesture, and his gaze drifted to the younger boy's hands.

Scorpius followed his line of sight, and knew that he was probably imagining Ron Weasley's reaction to it were he present, but he still didn't move. James smirked, but carried on speaking, "McGonagall swallowed it because she overlooked the details which I picked up on since I am such a perceptive human. For example, your clothes – or lack thereof - I know the Divination department is totally off its head, but it is yet to produce nightwear for couples. Wait a couple years, they might introduce a 'His Hers' range." He shrugged, evidently enjoying this.

Rose blushed and Scorpius' hands tightened on her waist as he grew uncomfortable. James' smile grew and their uneasiness; he may have understood what they were up to, but it didn't mean he liked seeing his cousin in some guy's arms. "Come on, go to bed. You might as well get some sleep. It's four now, so if you go back now, you can be relatively conscious to see McGonagall at ten.

Of course, if you'd rather be totally pissed now and visit her with a killer hangover, I'm sure I can convince the firewhiskey in my trunk to help you out. But don't drink too much; I think she'd appreciate it if you could at least string a coherent sentence together." James was obviously considering retracting his offer.

"No, no. We will take our punishment sober thanks all the same. I'm not really into the whole pain thing." Rose assured him, hoping he wouldn't push the matter. It was one thing to pull pranks on the castle as they slept, but a whole other to break the law. It wasn't technically a wizarding law, but muggle ones often applied – murder, for example was frowned upon, to be euphemistic.

"Hey, how'd you get firewhiskey into the –"

"Let's go, Scor." Rose dragged him through the trapdoor before he could get them into more trouble. She was tired, and really not up for an interrogation about underage drinking.

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A loud boom echoed throughout Ravenclaw tower at nine o'clock. Lysander watched as Scorpius flew two feet in the air, tried to catch himself, missed his bed on landing, and twisted himself inside his sheet before plummeting gracefully to the floor.

"FUCK YOU, LYSANDER!" he yelled, as he slowly got to his feet and got over the shock. He swayed slightly on the spot, his eyelids drooping. Lysander raised the trumpet to his lips again, and the dark haired boy's eyes flew open and his hands covered his ears.

Lysander lowered the brass contraption and grinned. "Sorry, mate. Didn't **wake** you, did I? see, I had a slight dilemma in that I usually practice here around this time and you are usually up already. But you were still sleeping and I didn't have the heart to wake you – unlike you did me at three am." He wore a mockingly sympathetic smile.

"Oh you…I swear I'll…DAMN YOU SAND." Scorpius shouted, unable to form an entire insult. He grabbed his clothes from the back of his chair and stormed from the dormitory. Lysander watched, grinning to himself. Payback's a bitch.

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**A/N: Let me know what you think. I apologize for Scorpius' colorful language, but wouldn't you be the same under the circumstances? Please review! x**


	10. An Illegal Rave

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long. I hit a slight writer's block which I have hopefully overcome by producing this extra long chapter. Thank you so much for all your reviews - especially to don't-be-a-rock-in-my-river who has reviewed every chapter. You are all great! I won't be able to update until next Sunday because I am in Spain and am not allowed to take my laptop :( but I will write the next chapter in my very trusty blue notebook and type it up for you guys when I get home! x**

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Professor McGonagall paced around her office, deep in thought. She paid little attention to the sixth year students sat impatiently in front of her desk. To be honest, the whole ritual was getting tired. They'd been in this position too many times to count since they'd arrived at Hogwarts but nothing seemed to improve, no matter how many detentions were involved.

"I don't know what I am going to do with you two, now." She muttered, more to herself but loud enough for them to hear. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Scorpius Malfoy's mouth twitch, successfully repressing a smile. 'Good choice' she thought to herself; bursting out in uncontrollable laughter would not have been the best move for his health at this point.

"Professor, if I may make a suggestion?" Rose requested timidly. She seemed perfectly innocent in her asking, but it would be highly unusual for her to take the situation seriously. The Headmistress nodded, indicating her to continue, but was not prepared for anything constructive. "I believe that a good way to solve this issue would just be to give us what we have wanted all along." It was a cryptic remark to make, and Professor McGonagall frowned, wondering what it could be that had been worth six full years of trouble.

"Miss Weasley, I doubt that whatever you are insinuating is appropriate for the circumstances, and I would also appreciate it if you refrained from distracting yourself by stroking Mr. Malfoy's hair." Her voice rose sternly, and Rose's fingers which had been wandering towards Scorpius' dark locks absent mindedly froze in mid-air. The professor looked at her pointedly, causing her hand to fall back into her lap.

By this point, Scorpius was grinning widely; either enjoying the idea that Rose was touching his hair without thinking about it, or the Headmistress' reaction to this. Rose became extraordinarily interested in the floor under her chair and Professor McGonagall closed her eyes, taking slow, deep breaths.

"Until I think of a more suitable punishment, you will both serve detentions on Friday evenings as well as Saturdays. The only other option would be suspension, but you would undoubtedly use the time unwisely, and since you are working for N.E.W.T's, you cannot afford distractions. I am aware that you both achieved very respectable grades at O.W.L.– none less than an Acceptable, but that is no excuse to become complacent. The two of you are extremely talented, and I am certain that you will become great wizards.

"However, I will not allow you to slip; you will pass your exams, and you will leave this school at the end of your final year – I do not want to have to expel you for behavior such as this. That is where we are. You may go now, but think about what I have said and please take it into consideration." She gestured her hand to the door, indicating that they should leave if they wanted to remain intact, and they departed quickly.

Once back in the safety of the Ravenclaw common room, Scorpius collapsed into one of the chairs in front of the fire. Rose nestled into his lap; his arms wrapped around her, and Lysander looked at the pair disgusted from one of the desks across the room. "Get a room. Please. For the sake of my innocent eyes." He told them, before turning back to his essay, shuddering slightly.

Rose rolled her eyes, but stood, taking Scorpius' hand and dragged him from the common room. They found an empty classroom and sat on the tables, throwing broken quills at the blackboard. "So, what now?" Rose asked, when they eventually ran out of quills and took to staring at the ceiling.

"I would say we have three options." Scorpius responded, giving out little useful information. Taking Rose's glare into account, he wisely continued; "either we carry on as usual – wreaking havoc wherever possible, or we keep our heads down, focus on work. And finally, my personal favorite, we throw a party in the Three Broomsticks next weekend."

"Next weekend? But that's not a Hogsmeade trip." Rose stated, confused. Apparently her boyfriend had completely lost his head over the last few days. He'd been suggesting more and more imaginative ideas, sure to get them into trouble. She was starting to consider him as some sort of masochist.

"No. It's not. Your point exactly?"

"Are you seriously saying that we should use the map to shepherd people out of the school? Scor, that's not just pulling a prank. Didn't you hear McGonagall? She'll expel us if we get in more trouble. That is definitely good grounds for expulsion." She said, speaking louder than usual, trying to hide her fear.

"Please, we're the best two students in the year; she'd never expel us. I know you, Rose. That's not what you're worried about, is it? You're not even worried about the whole idea. Come on, tell me." He took her face in his hands and stood in front of her, looking down into her eyes as she sat on the desk.

As usual, she felt herself drowning in his deep, dark mysterious eyes. He couldn't help that she was immersed, but he could at least try a little harder to keep her breathing. His eyes widened with concern when she didn't answer; she normally had something to say. It was what he loved so much about her.

"Rose?" he asked softly, hoping to get some kind of reply. He felt an odd sense of déjà vu; he could have sworn the same thing happened the first day they met. He glanced briefly up at the hair which hung over his forehead; still brown. That was a comfort – at least he wasn't morphing at random.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts; "yes. I just don't know." She told him informatively. Her face was a mask of uncertainty, which confused and scared Scorpius. It wasn't like her to feel vulnerable; she was strong, stronger than he was, and her fear for whatever it may be was starting to rub off on him.

"What don't you know? Honestly, Rose, you're never like this. Something's up. Why won't you talk to me?" his voice rose slightly, showing his agitation. He hated that she wouldn't open up to him, that he had to watch her sit trance-like in front of him and be able to do nothing at all to help her.

"Just the whole idea of leaving the school; it's different to what we've done before. It could be so dangerous – this time it's not just breaking a few rules, it's putting people's lives at risk. Obviously it **could** be totally fine, but what if it's not?

"I remember my dad telling me how Uncle Harry used to use his invisibility cloak to get out of the school when he'd been told he wasn't allowed to leave. It almost got him killed when he went to the Shrieking Shack – you know that old derelict building in Hogsmeade where no one goes – because no one knew where he was. I couldn't live with myself if you or anyone else got hurt just because we wanted to push the rule limits a little bit further."

Her voice had turned bitter as she finished, as though she was regretting the way she'd acted over the last six years, but they both knew that this wasn't the case. She was genuinely concerned that by shoving the boundaries this far, not only would they be expelled for sure, they would also be responsible if any students were harmed.

Scorpius smiled gently; he wasn't stupid – he'd obviously thought this all through. He didn't want to get anyone hurt, and it was one of the reasons for his distant attitude recently. He'd made a breakthrough that he was extremely proud of and wanted nothing more than to put it to good use. "Is that all?"

She frowned at him; surely that was enough not to carry this out. A student in danger was not something she was willing to risk; if not for their sakes, her parents would never let her live it down. They'd be disappointed by her forever, and though it seemed selfish, she wouldn't be able to live without the support and love of her family.

"**Yes that's all**. What's wrong with that, Scor? Is it so wrong not to want that kind of thing on my shoulders? Is it **so wrong** not to want the responsibility if half the school gets slaughtered?" Her voice rose to a near scream; her face reddening with anger, furious tears rolling down her face.

She rarely showed it, but Rose was a very emotional person; she hated hurting people or seeing people hurt. She'd often felt her eyes sparkle when her parents talked of the Great War. She'd never met her Uncle Fred, but the way her father talked about him let her know how wonderful he was and how much he was missed. Even **she **missed him; just through the stories she felt like she knew him.

It was bad enough that people had to die naturally or by murder, but it really infuriated her that her boyfriend, her best friend, cared little enough to encourage it.

To anyone else, hi s response would have featured extremely colorful language which would certainly extend the vocabulary of most. As it was, he did not retaliate normally to her outburst, but ignored it and picked her up off the desk, arms gripped tightly around her waist, and kissed her softly giving her no chance to protest.

Rose slapped her forehead mentally; how could he win the argument this way? it shouldn't be legal to stop her train of thought like this; you wouldn't get away with it in a courtroom. She was going to have to make it a rule between them. But he would never listen to her, and she enjoyed it too much to stop him.

As usual, she felt the anger ebb away as she relaxed in his embrace, softening under his strong hands. Even when they were fighting, she always felt comfortable with Scorpius. Whether it was because she'd been close to him for so long, or because he knew her better than anybody she didn't know, but his presence never made her feel uneasy or nervous, just herself.

She wasn't afraid to shout at him, because she knew he'd always forgive her; she didn't mind him getting angry with her, because in the back of her mind, she knew they 'd always be together again. No argument between them ever stuck, and she doubted it ever would.

When they eventually got back to the Common Room, Lysander looked them up and down, taking in the messy hair and the slightly crumpled clothes. Rose glanced around the room, her face heating up with embarrassment. After a rather exaggerated eye roll, Lysander swept his belongings up into his arm and left to the dormitory, smirking.

"So as we were discussing" Scorpius began, quietly, breaking the silence which was not awkward, as such, but was certainly heading in that direction. Rose laughed softly, realizing how the conversation seemed in her head. She'd never given him the chance to explain himself; just started yelling profusely. She sat on the floor in front of him, resting her head against his knees.

"Well, go on then. Did you want to tell me what you meant? I mean, if you weren't considering the possibility that we could get everyone hurt, then what was it?" She asked, tilting her head back to look at him, and was surprised to find him leaning forward. Grinning, she kissed him softly, causing Louis, who had taken that moment to come down the stairs to groan in disgust and turn to go straight back up again.

Scorpius laughed at the younger boy's reaction, and waited until he had gone back up the stairs before speaking. "I've been working on something these past few weeks. You helped, though you didn't know what for. You know we're probably smarter than most of the year combined; I decided to put that to good use. N.E.W.T's only go so far."

"Scor, that doesn't explain much. What about your suggestion for a party in Hogsmeade?"

"I was getting to that" he said, exasperated. "So I mentioned that I was working. Well I was working on the map. The one we inherited from Al. It used to show all of Hogwarts and its inhabitants. But **now**…" he drew the parchment from his robes, and opened it, uttering the words they used so often. Rose frowned; she could have sworn it was bigger than the last time they'd used it.

"What did you –?" she stopped as the green markings slowly appeared on the creamy paper. There were more – much more. She watched as the swirly lettering spelt out Hogsmeade, and the dots scattered across it indicated people she'd never even heard of. From what she could tell, he'd managed to expand the Marauder's Map.

"You are not serious. There's no way you could ever do this! It was made ages ago, by Al's granddad and his friends. How did you do this?" she gasped. She'd never even considered the idea that the map could become more than just Hogwarts.

Scorpius shrugged, attempting modesty but the pride was creeping through. "Just a couple of spells here and there. I mostly found them in the library, but remember when you helped me work out that charm for my essay last week?" she nodded, the memory vaguely resurfacing, "it wasn't for an essay."

* * *

The invitations went out to fifth, sixth and seventh years through the three people most likely to gossip and therefore pass the information on. James, Louis and Molly were the selected talkers; they were popular and unnaturally vocal. Scorpius and Rose had done the majority of arrangements, including telling the ditzy barmaid of the Three Broomsticks that there was a Hogsmeade trip the next weekend.

Rose sat outside the portrait hole the Thursday before the party, the map in her hands. She sat cross legged, not moving except to brush stray strands of hair out of her eyes. She hadn't conferred with Scorpius about this particular part of the plan, because she knew it would make her life easier if it was a surprise. It wouldn't be easy for her to get around him; he was extremely difficult to convince, especially when she wasn't being entirely truthful. He knew her well enough to tell.

"Lumos," she muttered, and a dim light spread over the map from her wand, telling her who the approaching footsteps belonged to. "Wow, took your time, huh." She said, irritated. She didn't have all night; she may appear as though she had nothing better to do but that was not even slightly true, and if her cousin didn't cooperate, he was going to find that out. "Well? You got it?" she felt like she was asking for drugs which quite entertained her considering how contradictory it was.

"Sure, calm down. Here" He handed the small package to her and turned to leave.

"Freddie it does work, right?" she asked, skeptically, eyeing the box in her hands.

"'Course it does. Rosie, why would I get you something faulty? You just have to transfigure it – the spell's in the box. Trust me, my Dad tests all of his products; it's fine. See you later." He turned back in the direction of Gryffindor Tower, leaving Rose to look at the pack again. If it went wrong, she was putting the whole blame on him.

* * *

At seven o'clock, Scorpius stood outside the statue of the seven toed frog, having opened the pedestal with the spell indicated on the new and improved map he held. He watched the teachers carefully; they were all in either their respective offices or in the staff room. It was extremely convenient, and he had a feeling that Rose had something to do with it. She'd read about the ways the school was protected from muggles and other trespassers, and had probably invented something similar to keep them away. He wasn't complaining; it made his job a hell of a lot easier, and they'd be more relaxed because of it.

At around quarter past, people started arriving; and Scorpius wordlessly shepherded them through the statue, which led to the backroom of a derelict shop which was situated behind the Three Broomsticks. They would meet Rose at the other side who stood with a very reluctant Lysander to direct them safely to the inn. When there was a lull in the passing, Scorpius decided that a hundred and fifty students in the pub would be plenty. He climbed through the hole, sealing it behind him, and made his way to the other side.

"Finally, Scor. James and Freddie are trying to keep them entertained, but there's only so much they can do. Did you shut the sculpture behind you?" Rose asked. Scorpius just looked at her, feigning hurt that she thought he was stupid enough to forget. She smiled, calling his bluff, "good. Let's go then." She took his hand and they walked briskly through the cold evening air to the Three Broomsticks.

The place was coming to life; Lysander had been sent ahead by Rose to help Amelia sort out the food, Al was doing his best to convince Freddie and James not to continue telling jokes which were becoming less and less suitable for younger ears, and the rest of the gathering hovered, not really knowing what to do. Rose let go of Scorpius' hand and turned the music on. With any luck she'd get to reveal her surprise before teachers noticed the absence of the top end of the school.

Four hours later, James had decided it was the right time to introduce the fire whiskey which he multiplied enough to give to the whole group. It was at this point, that Rose figured it was time to round up the night. It was getting on for eleven now, and although staff had not yet appeared, they would eventually, and Rose would prefer it if alcohol wasn't involved when they did. She took Scorpius' hands from her waist and headed off the dance floor which had been fashioned by shoving the tables into the walls.

As expected, Scorpius followed her and tried to ask what she was doing. She ignored him, and opened the box Freddie had given her two nights ago. She took her wand from her hair; she'd been told it wasn't a wise place to keep it, but had taken no notice – she had to hold her hair up, and it worked as well as anything else – and cast the spell indicated on the small tubes. "Stand back." She told him, moving backwards herself. She could tell he wanted to ask, but didn't because he knew he'd get no answer.

The tubes flew out of the box, exploding as they did so, creating the beautiful indoor fireworks she'd been hoping for. They whizzed around the room, sparkling different colors and whooshing amongst the crowd. Rose smiled to herself, glad that the evening had gone so well to plan. Scorpius rested his head on her shoulder, kissing her neck. "I think the night has worked out nicely," he whispered against her skin, "I love you."

Her smile widened at the words she'd wanted to say for so long, and had strayed away from. "I love you too," she told him, turning to face him, and kissing him softly, "and we are totally screwed." It would have been more romantic, were it not for Louis' interruption by gagging at the sight, though he left at Rose's vicious glare. It had been a good year so far, and this was a good end to the Easter term, of course, they may not be coming back for Summer.

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**A/N: Please review! x**


	11. Blackmail

**A/N: I know it's been ridiculously long, but I want you all to know (if you're still reading) that I haven't abandoned this story, I've had a hell of a lot to do, but have been working on this steadily. I should be able to get another chapter up in a week. Thanks so much if you're still supporting this story! xx**

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"You did WHAT?" Rose and Scorpius cowered under the painfully menacing glare of Hermione Weasley. They'd been home for one week and she had finally discovered letter from Professor McGonagall in its former hiding place under Rose's bed, which informed her of their 'increasingly unacceptable behavior'. They knew they weren't going down for expulsion yet, but suspension was very much a viable option.

Obviously, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy had each been addressed the same letter, and as a result, a very snooty owl had arrived carrying a role of stiff, expensive parchment for Scorpius, who did not make the effort to read it, despite Hermione's hopeful assurances that it would contain words of love and comfort considering his birthday had past so recently. Although the Weasleys had a much appreciated yet unexpected celebration for him, he'd heard nothing from either parent. His mother had not written to him since he'd rejected her offer of living in Scandinavia, and his father had ignored him for four or so years.

In conclusion, the very expensive parchment enjoyed a nice thorough smoldering in the Weasley's oven.

Scorpius shuffled his feet for something to distract him; if there was one thing he really hated, it was disappointing Rose's mother. She'd been more of a mother figure than his own, and though he knew he should, one of the only reactions he never thought about when he did something totally stupid was hers.

And the reactions were never pretty; she always asked the most obvious questions that hadn't occurred to them at the time, like 'What were you thinking?" to which they'd want to reply instinctively, "How funny it would be" or "How to avoid detection" or even, "I don't know, I wasn't thinking!", but they could never say that, as she'd get even more angry. So now they'd gotten the right idea and just kept quiet in these increasingly regular circumstances.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourselves? Did you even consider the danger you were putting yourselves in?" she fumed, not releasing the glare. "Forget that, did you consider the danger you were putting **half of the school **in?"

Rose searched her brain for a way to answer this without including the theft involved in their possession of the map; and Scorpius sneaking into the Restricted Section of the library to work out how to expand the map.

She thought of nothing.

Other than the interesting fact that her cousin had apparently not noticed the absence of 'his' map. Technically he had more right to it than anyone other than James or Lily, but either it didn't mean very much to him or he was exceptionally unobservant. Her main wish at the present moment, though, was that Professor McGonagall hadn't mentioned her stunt with the indoor fireworks because that certainly wouldn't be a good factor when it came to her sanctions. They hadn't even enlightened her parents to their romantic relationship yet, and they knew that that conversation would be a memorable one at the very least.

"I swear; if neither of you are prepared to talk, you can live in the attic all holiday." Hermione cautioned, her eyes throwing fireballs.

The attic became a very comfortable home for the couple over the break. They were fed, of course, but were not allowed to leave the attic room. This was no problem, since Scorpius lived up there anyway, and Rose was able to summon anything she needed from her room with the flick of a wand.

They returned to Hogwarts in September on many conditions. One being that they caused no more trouble, and another being that they write home more often. Hermione had decided that once a term wasn't enough, so Rose and Scorpius grudgingly agreed.

Ron had inserted his own condition into the mix; they were privately instructed to send him a selection of Honeydukes sweets, as indicated on a list he slipped into Rose's trunk. They were baffled by this request, but were assured that it was necessary; Hermione did not allow her husband to eat too much sugar, so, being the daring rebel that he is, Ron used his daughter to access his favorite foods.

It was just a usual evening; Rose and Scorpius had resided to the library, having been kicked out of Ravenclaw Tower by Lysander, who had decided to make it a habit for the safety of younger students and protection of their innocence. They didn't complain much though; they preferred the quiet and the privacy. And that was how it was tonight, at least until Albus made his presence known.

"Oi! Public place, you two. Get a room." He yelled, shocking the couple into jumping apart. Rose knocked a few books from the shelf and hastened to pick them up as Scorpius grinned sheepishly at Al. "Finished?" Al asked, as Rose straightened up. He smirked, amused at her blush. She didn't answer but shifted her feet awkwardly, unconsciously drawing closer to Scorpius.

Al watched confused and amazed, as Scorpius managed to calm her down by slipping an arm protectively around her waist, causing her to relax into his side. Without knowing it, the two supported one another, making the other feel more comfortable without controlling it. And neither seemed to realize how strong their relationship really was.

Al raised his eyebrows at their stance. "What?" Rose asked, defensively.

He shook his head, "Nothing. Just, why are you guys here? It's kinda difficult to access the books while you're, um…" he left the insinuation hanging.

Rose grinned wickedly, "We tried to choose somewhere that no one would be interested in looking." She glanced at the shelf to her left, looking it up and down. "Sorry, Al. I just never took you for a fan of goblin romance. But if that's what floats your boat, please, go ahead."

"What? I don't-. Oh, to hell with it. Just bugger off, alright?" he gave up. Rose dragged Scorpius passed him and was heading out of the library when Al noticed a small folded piece of parchment on the floor where she'd stood. "Hey, Rose? Dropped something." He called after her, before examining it more closely. "Huh, I recognize this." he muttered to himself as she reappeared in front of him, hand outstretched.

Al ignored her, his curiosity struck. He opened the parchment, and instantly acknowledged the distinctive tears and fold lines of the Marauder's Map. "So you guys took it." he stated, not looking up at them.

Rose didn't know how to answer. It had been almost a year since they'd taken it and she'd honestly thought he'd forgotten. "What, you thought I wouldn't notice? That I wouldn't care if you took the one thing my father gave me from his Hogwarts years?" he murmured.

"Al, he didn't give it to you. You took it." Rose declared knowledgably, with a harsh tone daring him to deny it.

Al glared at her, "I didn't know you knew that." He said, confirming her suspicions that he'd tried to guilt trip them. "But you didn't have to steal it. I'm more entitled to it than you."

"You're right, Al. It was wrong of us. How should we make it up to you?" Rose asked, ready to beg forgiveness. She knew she sounded stupid, but Al was one of her favorite cousins and she hated people being angry at her. Scorpius nudged her discreetly, making her aware of the fact that she'd just put them both in a very vulnerable position. She could have said "We'll do anything". The evil glint in Al's eyes established this.

"In that case, I do believe there is something Uncle Ron isn't aware of just yet, right Rosie? It wouldn't be fair to keep him out of the loop would it?" he commented with mock innocence. Rose blanched, knowing exactly what he was talking about but at the same time hoping it wasn't true. She'd dug a hole and jumped right in.

"Al, I'm going to tell my parents about me and Scorpius when-"

"Hadn't thought of that one as it happens. You can tell him that too. Actually, I was talking about your being pregnant." He said offhandedly, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. He grinned triumphantly at his cousin's shocked and pale expression.

"WHAT?" Scorpius roared, apparently forgetting their current location. He tried desperately to gain his girlfriend's attention, clearly panicking. But Rose would not be distracted; her fierce glare was fixed on Albus who remained totally unfazed.

Without looking at him, Rose threaded her fingers through Scorpius'. "Relax, Scor. It's not true. Al's getting even. It's impossible for me to be pregnant because I'm not with anyone else, and **we've **never, you know…" her face heated up as she tried to stay focused rather than allowing her mind to cloud over with thoughts of her previous statement, "and even if I was, there is no way in hell that **he **would know about it before you."

Scorpius was shocked by the anger in her voice; he'd never seen such a side to her. He made a defined mental note to stay on her good side, the phrase 'if looks could kill' was easily adaptable in this instance; Rose looked at Albus with such loathing and Scorpius was feeling more and more uneasy.

"It really isn't important whether or not it is true. You asked how to make it up to me. I have told you. I'm sure your father will be very interested to know. Of course, if you'd rather not tell him that, perhaps you'd like to explain to your mother how the whole of Hogwarts library was destroyed by rampaging pixies." He shrugged, gesturing to his wand.

"Al, don't you think this is just a bit of an overreaction? I mean, come on, it's not like we stole something that actually **belonged** to you. You just happened to have it. Murder is worse than lying or stealing, and we both know that if I told my Dad I was pregnant he'd either die of heart failure or kill Scorpius. And if you messed with the library, my mum would probably go hunt down every last pixie, so really you're creating more trouble than you're solving." Rose spoke fast, clearly having given up with convincing and was now pleading with her cousin.

"Seriously, dude, such a cliché. If you're gonna use blackmail at least be more imaginat–" Scorpius was silenced by Rose's discreet elbow meeting his ribs with unnecessary force.

Scorpius doubted that Al was particularly angry, it was more likely that he wanted to see them taken down a peg or two. This would certainly achieve that.

"Oh please, Rose, don't exaggerate. This isn't just about taking the map – which you can keep by the way, I don't have any need for it really – it's about you two. Really, I'm doing you a favor; otherwise you'd never get around to telling your parents until you actually were pregnant. You have no idea how fed up of your sneaking around we are. Lily was considering using one of Grandpa's muggle contraptions to tape you guys making out and show them. This will just speed things up a little, and with any luck I'll get to see the look on Uncle Ron's face." He grinned, clearly imagining the scene.

"Can I just intervene here?" Scorpius asked, as Rose opened her mouth to retaliate, "Al, correct me if I'm wrong, but from what you've said, can I guess that the reason you are putting my life in danger is jealousy? Just because you want what we have –"

"No, no no. Scorpius, my friend, I can assure you that I have no desire to suck the face off of either you or my cousin here. Trust me, I really don't. Frankly I am bored of you two being such a private couple at home and Uncle Ron hasn't had fun in his life for so long." He smiled condescendingly, knowing full well that he had them

"You wouldn't, Al. I know you better than that." Rose shook her head, confident.

"Oh yeah? Do you not remember Christmas two years ago? James singed the end of my broomstick so I told the whole Weasley clan that he had a new boyfriend. I think it took a lot of convincing from him 'til they believed it wasn't true. What can I say, I just sound so sincere. Even then I wasn't caught because I told them I saw him kissing a girl who looked remarkably masculine, so it was a mistake anyone could make. I'm sure I can come up with something in this situation. That is if we aren't already planning Scor's funeral."

"Thanks mate."

"Al you are being ridiculous. This is going to ruin Christmas, do you honestly want that?" Rose was getting desperate; the pitch of her voice rising towards a squeak. Rather than grace her with an answer, Al just smiled knowingly, tossed the parchment to Scorpius, and retreated silently from the library.

* * *

Christmas was the usual affair: every last Weasley, Potter and Scorpius Malfoy was rounded up and gathered into the Burrow where Molly Weasley had cooked to feed thousands. The table had been expanded over the years at the same rate the family grew, and could now occupy thirty eight people, though there was only a need for twenty five. Every room was occupied by at least two people chatting, eating or, in the case of James and Freddie, attempting to play Quidditch indoors not particularly impressing their grandmother, but gaining massive encouragement from George.

Ginny and Hermione were on vegetable duty with Victoire, while Audrey organized the table, and Lily watched with Hugo, awe inspired by the smooth, quick movements of their wands. Louis talked with Lucy and Molly in hushed, conspiratorial whispers by the fire whilst Dominique and Roxanne giggled openly about something or other in the corner. Angelina talked with Fleur out of earshot of Molly, undoubtedly discussing their banishing from the kitchen. Ron, Harry, Percy and Bill were deeply concentrating on a gripping round of Exploding Snap, successfully charmed by a certain pair to turn Percy's nose a different color on every turn.

The pair in question were nowhere to be seen. Albus sat suspiciously by himself in the hallway, uncharacteristically reading his Transfiguration text book, the façade was made even less realistic since the book happened to be upside down, and he peered over the top with an enormous grin on his face, unusually related to Transfiguration.

Being such a tall, rickety house, it was difficult to find people when you were looking for them. Scorpius and Rose used this to their advantage as they roomed with the ghoul in the attic, whom they'd affectionately named Watkins, the origin of the name unknown to any but themselves and best kept that way. Their discussion revolved primarily around the current concern they'd involved themselves in; Rose's alleged 'pregnancy'.

'I'm going to KILL Albus' Rose stormed, lobbing an old, broken lampshade across the floor, disrupting Watkins' relatively peaceful slumber. The ghoul angrily threw the lampshade back, and a piece of floor broke away on contact with Scorpius' protective shield charm.

'No. You're not. Don't exaggerate.' He sighed calmly, perfectly used to this behavior. Obviously he could see her point; he wouldn't be remotely impressed if he had to tell his family that he was pregnant, although that would be rather different considering the family and the physical impossibilities that would entail. 'Just keep Al happy for now. We'll get back at him later. He's got us, and he's taking advantage of it.'

Rose was sure she caught the words 'fucking prick' tagged to the end of that sentence, but chose to ignore it, since she felt the same but would never use such coarse language to admit it. 'Can you imagine their faces? You're like a son to my parents, so they basically see you as my brother!'

'Oh God, you don't have to tell me that!' Scorpius clamped his eyes shut, trying to dispel the image, 'what a blessing that is. God, if we were related?!' the horror was evident on his face at the thought of kissing his sister, and Rose struggled not to laugh at his expression.

She rolled her eyes, and moved to sit beside him, leaning against his side as he propped himself up against the wall. 'It'll be fine, Scor. I swear, we aren't and never will be blood relatives. What would your father say if you had Weasley blood?!' she joked, knowing that she was the only one who'd be able to bring about the conversation of his family without being hexed into oblivion.

He snorted in agreement, 'He'd be thrilled. Nothing would please him more!'

They sat comfortably for what seemed like hours. Watkins minded his own business, which was a rarity for which the couple was very grateful. However, as all good things, it couldn't last. Molly's voice proclaiming the start of Christmas dinner rang through the nooks and crannies of the lopsided house and reached the two sixteen year olds who lazed in the attic. Unfortunately, Watkins saw this as an invitation to continue throwing things.

Noticing this, Scorpius and Rose descended to the kitchen to meet their fate.

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**A/N: I know I don't deserve reviews :( but if you like it or have other suggestions let me know! If you're up to it, follow my blog: . because you can review stuff there as well :) **


	12. Revelations

**A/N: Thanks so much to those who are still reading and hey to new readers! Dedicating this to jasmineflower27 for supporting this story even over those six months of hiatus with no warning. Enjoy xx  
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On entering, the room went silent. Around thirty pairs of eyes flicked over the new arrivals. Rose frowned; this was an unusual reaction. Rarely was the whole family quiet at once; and now that they were she had no idea why.

Scorpius released her hand instantly, realising the problem first. He focussed his dark eyes on the floor, uncomfortable with the attention. Rose's cheeks heated but she stood her ground and glared expectantly at her relations; daring them to comment. James made the mistake of opening his mouth to speak but thought better of it when her stare turned on him.

George cleared his throat loudly, disliking the silence and order greatly. The pressure was released from the pair as the kitchen returned to life and Ronald Weasley's face returned to its natural colour. Rose busied herself straight away; offering to chop parsnips and bent over them, paying extreme attention to the width of each piece.

Scorpius reacted slightly better in that he didn't show intense interest in vegetables. He rolled his eyes automatically at his girlfriend's blatant fear of detection and engaged in a highly informative and gripping conversation with James and Freddie about dungbombs.

Two hours later, the food was finally ready, everyone was gathered around the table and Lily's owl had eventually relented and was sitting in the porch with the rest of the family pets.

"Roxie, carrots for you?" Molly's voice projected to the other end of the table.

"What the hell is that?"

"I dunno. Cabbage? Or, like, leeks, maybe?"

"Nah, it's got red bits in it."

"Well then there's strawberry in it."

"There is no strawberry in the cabbage, Ronald. Now you and George show your children a good example and eat it."

"Albus, pass the potatoes."

"Careful of the gravy Louis, you almost spilt it on Grandpa Weasley. Apologise now!"

"Scor how many broccoli stalks do you need? What is it, a tree fetish?"

"No, I just like broccoli what's wrong with that?"

"Well, nothing, but you have about seven."

"Yeah but I already ate one. So I had eight before. That makes it an even number."

"What the fu-"

"ROSE. LANGUAGE! WHAT KIND OF EXAMPLE IS THAT FOR YOUR BROTHER?"

"Please, Mum. Don't be so condescending. I use that word all the time. FU-"

"HUGO!"

"ALRIGHT. THAT. IS. ENOUGH. We're supposed to be having a nice, family meal where we are all kind and friendly to each other." Arthur's normally calm voice raised shocked the whole group into silence and he smiled slightly as he continued. "Scorpius, have as many broccoli stalks as you wish. Ron, George, the cabbage is perfectly edible. Louis, stop apologising, you did not attack me with the gravy.

"Now. Are we going to eat nicely?"

There were murmurs from all around the table of 'yes' and 'sorry', before the group returned to the rabble. Arthur sighed deeply and turned his attention to his turkey, knowing it wasn't worth it. Every year was the same, and every year it went relatively well.

When the shouting died down, and everybody was focused intently on their food, Albus picked his moment. "Hey, Rose. That's a nice ring. Where'd you get it?" he asked innocently.

Rose's eyes widened, visibly shocked that he would actually go through with it. He was perceptive for an annoying sixteen year old boy. "Oh, um, this one? I got it for my birthday." She dismissed, casually gesturing to her right hand where the silver ring sat on her first finger, an emerald clasped in the centre. The one from the Malfoy Manor that Scorpius had taken for her sixteenth.

"Oh, it's beautiful, Rose. Where on earth did you get such a thing? Why didn't you show me?" Hermione asked sounding slightly hurt that her daughter would have kept it from her.

"Oooh, Rosie, is it from a boyfriend? You can tell us, dear, what's his name?" Molly's eyes filled with excitement at the possibility of romance.

"It bloody well better not be. Tell them Rosie. It's not from a boyfriend. Is it. Is it?" Ron's voice wavered, his confidence faltering as she hesitated. "Who is he? He'd better not be in Slytherin, Rosie, or mark my words he will not see Seventh Year. Actually, he better not exist. Wait, he's not already in Seventh Year is he? Rose Weasley don't you dare tell me you're dating an older bloke or I'll –"

"No, no, no, no. Don't get carried away Dad. I'm not dating anyone that much older than me. It's someone you, um, know quite well." She stuttered, looking down as she spoke so as to give away no facial expression. Scorpius was gazing decidedly at the table cloth, tracing the floral patterns with his eyes.

Ron groaned, sounding incredibly ill. His face paled as he replayed her words in his head. "Rose you can't be dating… you're not… is he- is he at this table?"

Rose kept her eyes safely away from Scorpius' frozen form as she nodded almost unnoticeably. "NO. ROSIE, THAT'S INCESTUOUS. WHICH ONE IS IT? JAMES? FRED –?"

Ron was distracted as Scorpius' head met the table beside his plate. Evidently, blinking had slipped his mind, and now he sat up, blinking rapidly and gazing around as if he had just landed on Mars. "You." Ron stated, venom coating his words. "It's your fault. This, this monstrosity. You are responsible, Malfoy. What did you do? Use a love potion? Imperius? Or is she just out of her BLOODY MIND?"

"HEY!"

Albus smiled gleefully to himself, as he watched the events unfold before him. Rose's fiery temper was getting the better of her, and Scorpius seemed to be staying out of it as long as possible. He was smarter than Rose in this respect, at least. If he'd even attempted to comment, Ron would have hexed him indefinitely.

"I'm not out of my mind. I love Scor. He's not in Slytherin, he's not in Seventh Year, and he's DEFINITELY not related to me. So what is your problem Dad?" those who weren't standing were staring on in awe as father and daughter argued back and forth while the third participant tried to remain conscious.

"Oh my God, he got you pregnant didn't he?" Ron sank back down into his seat, face paler than a snowman in Antarctica. "That's where all these hormones are coming from. How could you let this happen Rose? You're such a clever girl, how could you be so thick?" He asked, exasperated.

Rose glanced in Al's direction, wondering if he actually intended her to go through with it. He responded with a look of interest and confusion, confirming that it was indeed what he expected. Rose sighed softly, "yes, Dad. I am having Scor's baby, you will be a grandpa, Mum will be a grandma and that is the end of it."

Ron blacked out.

The food lay forgotten as the gathering descended into uproar. Hermione looked at Rose with disappointment that was combined with a happiness and pride that her daughter knew she was strong enough to have a baby so young. A small party gathered around Ron's unconscious form, some attempting to wake him up by poking him with their wands. Victoire joined Roxanne and Dominique in an animated conversation about baby clothes. Hugo interrogated Scorpius about his 'plans for the future' and Albus watched silently as his work unfolded.

Four hours later things had pretty much returned to normal; including the colour of Ron's face. Albus had eventually convinced everyone that his cousin wasn't pregnant, deciding it had gone slightly too far when Hugo started hexing Scorpius at no notice to test his defensive skills and eventually forcing him through an upstairs window.

Now the slightly dazed Scorpius lay comfortably on the sofa in the now empty living room, a dozing Rose curled neatly into his side. There was a soft knock on the door and Scorpius raised his head to see it open.

"Hey, can I come in?" Hugo poked his head around the door, Louis following quickly behind. Scorpius gave an imperceptible nod doing his best not to jolt Rose awake. "Is she sleeping? Or has she just developed a serious attachment to that sweater of yours?"

Scorpius scowled, "yeah, she's asleep. What's up Louis? Attempted murderer?"

Hugo rolled his eyes. "I didn't try to kill you, Scorp, you know that. I just freaked out; I thought you'd knocked her up, I'm entitled."

"Sure, what do you want, now you're here?"

"Um… how's your leg?" he gestured to the blanket draped over his right foot which hung off the side of the couch.

Scorpius shrugged, "not broken, but it's been better. Come on, that's not why you're disturbing us. What's going on?"

"Just that I think there's a reason everyone believed Rose was pregnant. And no, it's not because it was Rose who said it, because even though it was Rose who actually _said_ it, in any normal situation it would have always have been a potential blackmail prank…"

Scorpius cut him off; "You're rambling."

"Yeah, well what I'm saying is you have to be careful with her. I trust you, almost entirely, but Dad is another thing." Hugo scuffed his feet against the carpet uncomfortably, mainly just a bad habit for which he was often rebuked. "I mean, if I'm perfectly honest he was ready to kill you, and I'd say Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie were right behind him. Uncle Percy didn't care, and Uncle George thought it was hilarious. I think Harry wanted to stay neutral, but Dad's his best friend, y'know, he'll normally back him."

"Seriously, where are you going with this? Just trying to make me feel worse about something I actually didn't do?"

"Basically, don't do anything stupid or you'll get lynched, just something to think about." Hugo shrugged absently glancing around the room, evidently wishing he was elsewhere. He carefully avoided looking at his sister's sleeping figure which still clung tightly to Scorpius' dark blue Weasley jumper.

"What?"

"Nothing, just that you two make me sick." Louis forced out before running dramatically for the door. Hugo gave small smile before following his cousin. Scorpius shook his head at their weird behaviour and Rose stirred in her sleep.

"Hey, are you awake?" he whispered, nudging her gently with his arm.

"Meh. Not quite coherent yet." She responded, although it lacked many consonants and any kind of structure, so sounded more along the lines of 'no uie hern ye'. He grinned at her, containing his laughter so as not to jostle her.

"You are very entertaining when you're tired."

"Thanks," she grumbled, "I do my best." Rose twisted into a more vertical position, so she was positioned beside him. "I heard an interesting conversation while I was sleeping."

"As in a dream?"

"Not so much. I'm pretty sure this was real." She frowned, remembering. "At least it definitely could have been. You were there, talking to Hugo."

"Oh, yeah. He was here while you were out. Saying that if I didn't look after you I was dead. Considering the size of your family it's probably true. Is that what you heard, or thought you heard, or dream you heard?"

She laughed at his question, "Yes, something like that."

"Why?"

"He's always been so condescending, less than my Dad, but Hugo always followed his example. That's why he was attacking you earlier; he thought he had to because Dad got so mad. I don't really get it, I don't think anyone does. It's a guy thing he has where he feels the need to live up to Dad's expectations, even when they don't exist." She glanced at Scorpius, whose face was one of confusion mixed with a determination to understand. "I know it doesn't make total sense. But it seems like Hugo is so intimidated by Dad's reputation that he struggles to be his own person."

"Now that I understand. Don't you remember the first time you met me? On the train?"

"Of course. You totally freaked me out with that spell. But being the naturally curious person I am, I was intrigued. I guess that makes you like Hugo in that respect." She added.

"How?"

"Well, neither of you want to be compared to your dads. For totally different reasons, I get that, but still. You escaped it pretty easily; changing your appearance was just a start, but your friendliness and badass nature showed everyone that you were so not your father's son. Hugo's trying to be better than Dad by being him, if that follows."

"He'll be ok. His friends don't judge him or expect anything, and I managed. No one has ever compared me to my 'Dad' at Hogwarts, and the reputation I have they probably won't. I certainly don't look like him." He laughed humourlessly, the disgust he felt towards his parentage clear in his expression.

"But that's because it's not you. _You_ look like him, but not the person you make yourself. It's incredibly cheesy, but I know that I fell for the actual you; with all the Malfoy thrown in. You don't have to be him, but you don't have to be ashamed of yourself."

"It is incredibly cheesy, you're right."

There was a comfortable pause, and then "Am I ever going to get to see the real Scorpius Malfoy again?"

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**A/N: What did you think? I know it gets cheesy towards the end, but I will try to make up for it :) reviews welcome as always x  
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	13. Stuck

**A/N: It's been slightly longer than I anticipated, but I hope it was worth the wait. Please review! Oh and please answer my poll on my profile regarding this story**

**Disclaimer: Was not mine. Is not mine. Will not be mine.  
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The train ride to Hogwarts after Christmas was considerably quieter than the one going home. Scorpius and Rose discovered that their trunks were somewhat heavier than before, and it took a discreet levitating charm in the middle of Platform 9 and ¾ to get them onto the train.

Since neither of them was in any position of responsibility – a widely considered good move on Professor McGonagall's part – the troublesome couple spent the journey lounging luxuriously in an otherwise empty compartment.

Of course, if it wasn't for Scorpius' intimidating height and Rose's terrifyingly sweet and innocent smile, the compartment would be full and there wouldn't be a group of nervous first years shaking in the corridor. It wasn't as though there wasn't any other compartment for the younger children the pair reasoned, but they were now too fearful to venture into one.

'Still there' Scorpius nodded, as he peered through the small window at the cluster of eleven year olds sitting on the floor.

Rose rolled her eyes, 'they'll get used to it. They're the youngest; it was the same for all of us." She shrugged. They hadn't been cruel to them, and frankly, they had to learn. "Scor! I know what we should do this year!"

"Uh, yeah, me too. We were going to stage a suicide off the Astronomy Tower."

"No, no, we can do that later on in the year. But if we can pull **this** one off, it will be the best we've ever done.' She drew a pair of scissors from her bag and waved them tauntingly at her boyfriend who was visibly alarmed by this gesture.

"Rose, babe, what are those for?" he asked carefully, eyeing the shiny metal suspiciously, clearly wondering whether or not he should have his girlfriend committed.

"I'm not insane, Scor. Relax. You know I won't hurt anyone." She laughed at his nervous expression, which didn't falter at her assurance.

"So, um, what's with the scary and potentially lethal weapon? Why do you even have them? Don't you use Diffindo?"

Rose brushed him off, "Yes of course I do, but these are far more accurate when I'm cutting fabric. I –"

"What fabric were you cutting?" Scorpius remained determined to make sure she was mentally stable before allowing her to venture into a conversation involving the use of scissors.

She grinned, evilly, 'just look out for Al in his robes. You'll understand. He can't change them either; I charmed them, and he only has one pair to hand, I made sure the rest were packed. **Anyway**," she emphasized, pointedly, 'they have another purpose now.' She paused dramatically. "Do you remember the Polyjuice Potion we have?"

"Sure, in the Room of Requirement. We brewed it last year."

"Yes." She watched him, waiting for it to register. It didn't. "Scor, please! I know it's early for you at one in the afternoon, but really! How slow are you?"

His dark brow furrowed, eyes focussed in concentration, "but who is it for? And whose hair are we using?"

"OUR hair, Scor. What a welcome for the first years, when you greet them as the headmistress?"

His eyes widened a combination of shock and fear. "What?" he squeaked, sounding very un-Scorpius-like.

"Ugh, keep up Scor. We spike the pumpkin juice at the High Table before the feast. All the teachers will transform at the toast, the one after McGonagall's speech. Have you ever seen them eat or drink before she calls it?"

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees "Well, no, but you're way more perceptive than me. Especially at the feast; I'm always hungry so I don't even concentrate on the sorting." He gave a small, guilty smile, glancing up at her through his dark eyelashes.

She grinned widely at his discomfort, "I know". Scorpius frowned. "They've never done anything except sit down before McGonagall calls the start of term toast."

She looked extremely satisfied, so Scorpius was very careful with his criticism, and went with the safest option; stating the obvious first. "But if they change into us, they'll know it's us."

"Scor, they **always** know it's us, they just don't expect it. And they can never prevent it because we're so spontaneous."

Scorpius nodded, allowing this "yeah, I guess it would work. But why not have a little more fun with this?"

"More fun how?" Rose leaned in automatically, intrigued by nature.

"Why get ourselves in trouble when we might be able to avoid it? Why look suspicious by getting to the castle before everyone else? Why wait until the toast to do it?"

"Scor, you're being very cryptic. Explain, please." Rose huffed; he knew how much she hated surprises and being kept in the dark about anything.

"Remember what you asked me at Christmas? About my family?" he waited until she nodded before continuing, "I've been working on that spell for a while to develop it; try and see how far I can push it and what it can do. I used the stuff Warduck taught us in Charms last year to improve and now I can morph into anything human." He spoke with energy and enthusiasm that Rose had rarely seen in him.

Her eyes glittered with taunting amusement when the last comment registered.

"Anything **male** and human, Rose," her shoulders slumped in disappointment, realizing she couldn't mock him for all eternity. "I haven't tried it yet, but I think I can transfigure other people as well!" he flicked his wand faster than a Firebolt, and Rose suddenly stood three inches taller, with long, straight, light chestnut hair, a much chest than she would have liked and the same glaring, yet startling bright blue eyes.

Her long, slender hands, now more tanned than before, moved to rest above her perfectly curved hips. Scorpius gaped at the beauty before him. She moved suddenly, slapping him swiftly across the cheek. "Scorpius Malfoy! You disgusting, materialistic, vile, repulsive creature! Make me normal again or so help me you will not leave this train in the same state that you got on in."

Scorpius gulped his face a picture of unconcealed terror. "But, you, look… you're – Rose you're incredible."

Her eyes hardened furtherer, narrowing into near slits. The look reminded Scorpius of Hermione when they'd last locked Hugo in the basement. The difference was, he didn't fear for his life when Hermione looked like this.

"I was fine before. Put me back." she folded her arms across her chest as she spoke sharply, cutting through the loud silence. Scorpius glanced at the rest of her body, to see her in a relatively short, yet still flattering strapless red dress with a neckline that felt slightly too low for Rose's taste.

Her legs remained as flawless as before, only now it appeared as though she had holidayed in a very sunny climate for a while. For some unknown reason, her feet were bare.

Scorpius hesitated, his eyes still fixed on her. "Scor!" she hissed, shifting uncomfortably. "Stop looking at me. Don't make me hit you again." she warned, drawing her wand.

"Sorry" he mumbled, looking away quickly, but glanced back reflexively as she relaxed. "Shit! Sorry! I want to put you back, Rose, I swear I do. But I told you I never did that before. I didn't know I could change clothes at all. I've never even tested it on someone else."

"You. Don't. Know. How." she stated, stepping further towards him, a look of pure menace in her eyes. "I look like a whore, Malfoy." Though he was still a good few inches taller than her, he cowered under her stare, and anyone who would look through the door now would be extremely nervous about what was happening.

This was exactly the surprise Lysander and his girlfriend, Amelia got when they paid an innocent visit to their friends. "What the bloody hell is this?" Lysander roared as he entered, somewhat shocked by the current arrangement. He was rarely one for using vulgar language, so this was a one off occasion. "Scor? Who's _that?"_ he asked, throwing a dirty look in Rose's direction whilst making a fantastic jump to conclusions. "How could you do this to Rose?" Lysander's insistence on protecting and defending Rose would most likely have resulted in Scorpius' broken nose were it not for Amelia's frantic yank on her boyfriend's arm.

"What the hell, Sand? Let me explain, perhaps? Fly off the handle much…?" Scorpius managed to retain a small amount of his cocky bravado as he recovered from the shock of his friend almost punching his face in. "So here's what happened –"

"Show them you first, Scor." Rose spoke very quietly but caught everyone's attention from where she had silently retreated to a seat by the window, covering her legs with Scorpius' robe.

"_You_ can shut up and all. He's dating one of my best friends, and I won't let you or him break her up. I never saw you before in my life so I don't know who you are, but I suggest you take off now and stay away from Scorpius." Lysander was in his element as he very calmly told off, remembering his morals and refraining from shouting at her. He was bizarrely frightening when it came to defending his friends.

Rose felt an overwhelming love for her friend as he demonstrated such loyalty. She never expected Lysander to care about her so much; though of course she never expected him to be in this position. She'd expect it from Scorpius – hell she'd hit him if he _didn't _defend her – but Sand had no compulsion to behave this way. Completely forgetting the current circumstances, Rose hugged him, taking him totally off guard. "Sand, thank you! I never thought you'd do that for me! You and Amelia are perfect together – you're both so compassionate!"

"Uh thanks. Wait, who the hell are you to be thanking me? I don't even know you!" A very disgruntled and confused expression coated his pale features.

"It's Rose." Scorpius explained miserably, his head resting on his knees muffling the sound slightly.

Lysander took a step back, and looked at Rose for a long while, trying to register the similarities. Amelia got there first, pointing out the fact that her eyes had not changed.

Lysander wanted nothing more than to believe her; he wanted to be able to trust Scorpius and know Rose was actually on the train. He just couldn't help but doubt it. He wasn't going to let Scorpius get away with cheating on Rose, best friend or not. "Prove it. Prove you are Rose Weasley. I would use the middle name but that could qualify as proof. And I don't know it."

Rose grinned up at him, despite her discomfort from his watchful eyes. "It's Muriel, after my Dad's favourite aunt. I hate it. To prove that I am in fact Rose Weasley, I will say this: even though he is a complete and utter twat who knows it, I love Scorpius Malfoy. He gave me this ring for my sixteenth birthday." She raised her right hand to show him the beautiful silver encrusted with the shining emerald.

This ring was famous; responsible for a number of rumours about an engagement flung around Hogwarts, despite her wearing it on her right hand. Lysander recognised it at once. It couldn't have been stolen; Rose would have put up one hell of a fight and this girl didn't have a scratch on her or any suspicious boils from Rose's hex speciality, and Rose _never _took it off, even when they fought.

"So, Rose, what the fuck happened?" Having eventually accepted that Scorpius was not unfaithful, it was time to move on to why Rose looked the way she did. He had relaxed considerably since arriving, but had still failed to resume his usual polite manner as he moved to sit opposite Rose Amelia settled on his lap, probably knowing it would prevent him from jumping at someone in overreaction.

"Ask _him," _Rose replied venomously, flicking a hand in Scorpius' direction. He was still relishing in her words of love for him, choosing to ignore the insults with a massive grin plastered to his face. Lysander turned to his friend, who drew his wand, pointed it at himself and repeated the spell.

Nothing happened. Lysander cocked an eyebrow, "what is it?" he asked; the anger suddenly replaced with a curiosity only associated with Ravenclaws. He leaned in closer in an attempt to detect a change.

"SHIT!" Scorpius yelled, shocking Amelia out of Lysander's lap.

"Calm down, mate." Lysander shouted back, repositioning Amelia beside him to avoid a repeat. "What's the problem? You look fine."

"Yeah but I shouldn't. I should be blond and pale and have gray eyes. I should look like my bloody father!" He rammed his fist hard into the wall in his fury. Rose overcame her own rage towards him to move to his side, adjusting the unusual dress as she went. She took his hand, which had somehow remained undamaged. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the wall, which now sported are large Scorpius-fist-shape dent.

Scorpius looked at her with desperation for forgiveness in his eyes. If there was one thing Rose was uncomfortable about, it was her appearance. She didn't complain, but he knew she was unhappy with the way she looked normally; she hated her generic Weasley hair, no matter how much he loved it. He knew no one could convince her of how beautiful she was. He lived for Rose; having no worthy family of his own. She was his world, however pathetic that sounded.

"I know, I know. I'm not mad anymore." She grumbled, not meeting his irresistible, deep chocolate puppy eyes that weakened her resolve so easily. "I'm not mad, but are you sure I'm stuck like this? I could get used to it, I guess, but if there's any way…"

"I know it's really not a good time, but before you go searching for a way to change yourself back and all, you should see yourself in the mirror, Rosie. You're breathtaking." Amelia's genuine nature had Rose convinced that she wasn't just saying that, and if she hadn't caught sight of Scorpius' lips twitching out of the corner of her eye, she would probably have considered it. But she wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

Rose smiled back at Amelia, thought stiffly, and her eyes flashed stating very clearly 'not helping'. Then her eyes widened, as she looked past the small blonde, and out of the window to see the village of Hogsmeade in close proximity. "Scor," she breathed, her face twisting into fury again, her jaw locking in place. "What am I going to wear?"

Scorpius shrugged, not understanding, "your robes."

Rose smiled sweetly, managing to convey menace in it. "No, dear, because when you cast the spell to make me a slut, you dressed me in this." She gestured to the bright red she wore, "and when you did that, my robes vanished. Now we've established that at least at this present moment I'm stuck like this, I have no clothes."

Scorpius froze, realizing he was in far more trouble than he thought.

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**A/N: Ok, I appreciate it is a little far fetched, but hey anything can happen in magic. More will be explained in following chapters. Please review :) xx**


	14. Issues

**A/N: Sorry it's been a little while. Thanks so much for the feedback! It's great to have opinions as inspiration. It lets me know what you want more of. Please review some more! I would love to get to 100 on this story. Not sure how much longer I'm going to take this on for, it depends how responsive everyone is! Please, please review. Oh and this is dedicated to Pilks because she made me. xx  
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Needless to say, Rose's appearance caught the attention of almost the entire male population at Hogwarts. Not only was her hair black as night, but her robes were now far too big for her, hanging off her petite frame. Despite being the trouble-maker she was, she had always been one of the neatest, most organized pupils in their year; her multiple detentions were never related to academia. It was surprising how muscular Scorpius was, considering his infallible lack of voluntary exercise.

So, with sleeves rolled up and a chunky belt at her waist to hike up the robes and avoid tripping over, Rose entered the Great Hall. Scorpius followed, hoping desperately that there would be so much attention on her that no one would notice him. He was in enough trouble with her; he wasn't in the mood for arguing with the faculty. But no such luck was to be had. Scorpius felt the fierce gaze of Professor McGonagall zero in on his muggle attire, complete with a Ravenclaw blue knitted jumper courtesy of Grandma Weasley. He quickly assessed his exits; only to realize that the only vaguely accessible one was blocked by a fast converging crowd of first years running in from all directions.

Even in such a crisis as this, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly possessed the eleven year olds to run everywhere. Admittedly, he had been one once, but never had he had the urge to run until his heart's content. Not that his heart would be content if he decided to sprint around the castle; he'd never darted off anywhere voluntarily, and he wasn't about to start.

"Rose." He hissed out of the side of his mouth, trying to catch her attention without drawing anymore eyes towards them. Naturally, she wasn't in the best state of mind.

"What, Scorpius?"

He ignored her icy tone, and proceeded, knowing that she needed to avoid the headmistress at all costs. "McGonagall is heading over here. What do we do?"

She shrugged, smirking at his agitation. "Not _my_ problem."

"Kinda is, actually. Unless you have a sudden desire to explain just how you are Rose Weasley but look absolutely nothing like her. There's no solid proof that she would be aware of, and the only witnesses are me, Sand and Amelia. Why would she believe them?" He grinned as her smirk faltered; his logic was foolproof. He glanced back swiftly to see the head teacher parting the swarms of shuffling, chattering children towards them.

"Just follow me." Rose whispered, before she kissed him forcefully on the mouth and almost knocking him off his feet. Scorpius was almost startled more by his own reflexes. "You didn't have to, you know." Rose chided him, loudly after releasing his lips. "She'll be so happy that you're wearing it; the poor old woman absolutely loves you, Scor. That's why she put so much effort into your jumper."

Scorpius cocked an eyebrow, evidently questioning her sanity. He just looked at her expecting some kind of explanation for this outburst. Rose rolled her eyes, "Grandma Weasley doesn't have much in her life anymore; all my aunts and uncles have left home, and we're all at Hogwarts. It will mean so much to her that you appreciate her gift enough to wear it instead of your school robes."

Scorpius threw her a look that said "seriously, is that the best you could do?" or words to that effect, and Rose glared at him, knowing that he had no other option. Frankly, he couldn't remember why he was making such a fuss out of this; it wasn't as though he'd never experienced the wrath of Professor McGonagall before.

He opened his mouth to play along with Rose's ridiculous suggestion, but, alas, it was too late. McGonagall towered over him, her piercing and beady eyes boring into the back of his head. "Mr. Malfoy. Would you care to explain to me why, yet again, you are causing such a hullabaloo in my Great Hall?"

"Me, Professor? My apologies; I was unaware that I triggered a 'baloo' of any sort." Under pressure, Scorpius had always had a tendency to take his charming, smooth way with words to the extent where it became patronising sarcasm.

"Oh is that the case, Malfoy? You don't think I've noticed a pattern developing here? After the stunt you pulled in September I have taken extra precautions. Neither you nor Miss Weasley will have unsupervised access to the Potions cupboard despite both being NEWT Potions students. Similarly, the rules that apply to other seventh years regarding later hours in the library are irrelevant to you two. The last thing this school needs is for you to expand your repertoire in troublesome charms and hexes. I expect you to relay this information to Miss Weasley as soon as she appears; any breach of these instructions and you will be in detention from now until you graduate, where is Miss Weasley?"

Scorpius was stunned; had she managed to breathe during that? It was only when she noticed Rose's absence that she was distracted from her rant. She seemed to have overlooked the unfamiliar girl who stood beside him. "Professor McGonagall. I wondered if you could possibly help Scorpius and I-"

"It's Scorpius and _me_." Scorpius corrected; apparently Rose had rubbed off on him. "Sorry, continue."

"It seems we have gotten into quite a situation." Rose smiled sweetly at the headmistress, who, of course, had no memory of ever seeing her before.

"Miss Weasley?" her stern voice was rather faint as she reacted in a similar way to Lysander on the train; scrutinizing her face for signs of the girl she knew. Scorpius moved forward cautiously; hoping there would be time to catch her before she hit the floor. "What on EARTH has been going on?"

Several long hours later, after a feast which a babbling Professor Longbottom had eventually convinced the headmistress she had to attend, the long desk was the only thing separating Scorpius and newly-formed Rose, and a still fuming Professor McGonagall. "Would one of you like to tell me exactly what happened here?"

"Um… basically, Scorpius was demonstrating his Transfiguration talent, and unfortunately failed to master the art of returning the guinea pig to its natural state." Rose explained icily.

Scorpius was instantly distracted, "hey, I've always wondered what you mean by that phrase. What the hell's a guinea-pig? Like some kind of pygmy puff that snorts?"

Almost laughing at his genuine curiosity, Rose patted his hand condescendingly and whispered, "No one will judge you on ignorance, Scor, don't worry," leaving him with a disgruntled scowl on his face, which instantly vanished at the headmistress' next words.

"So, it was you, Mr. Malfoy. Ah, of course, I remember the incident with a certain Mr. Morris several years ago. When you successfully transfigured him into a frog? The difference is that we were able to restore Mr. Morris to his human form. However, it would seem that Miss Weasley is stuck in this different body."

"Not just me; Scor too." Rose blurted, obviously having allowed her brain to wander briefly.

Professor McGonagall's eyes widened ever so slightly; they knew she was utterly flabbergasted. "He's the same, though. Do you mean to tell me that for the last seven years of his attendance at Hogwarts, only the actual Scorpius Malfoy has not been seen?"

Scorpius grinned, triumphant. "I think that's the first time you've said my name, Professor!"

"This is hardly the time, Mr. Malfoy. I would like you to tell me one: how you managed to achieve such a high and accurate standard of Transfiguration that is rarely accomplished by the most advanced wizards, and most certainly not by an eleven year old boy. And two: why."

While Scorpius' natural reaction was to be rather smug at this hidden compliment, he felt uncomfortable under the intense stare of his headmistress and instead took an interest in his feet as he answered her, absently fiddling with the gold rim on the end of his sleeve. "When I was growing up at home I didn't really have anyone around. It's not like my dad had any friends – and my mother by association had none – so I never met anyone with kids my age. Dad worked the whole day and Mum never paid me much attention. I just kept to myself and eventually found myself spending almost every day in their library. I was the only one who ever used it, and I learned a load of magic that I didn't get taught until last year; I could do non-verbals almost perfectly by the age of twelve. You can learn anything if you've got enough time on your hands, and some mental capacity.

"It was a relief for all of us when I got my Hogwarts letter. I wasn't expecting it; I'd read the stories about my family's past from the diary my Grandmother kept, but Dad never burned with the rest of stuff which could have tarnished the Malfoy name. But it came. So I practiced as much as I could; I figured if I could be different to my dad in every way I possibly could – including my image – then I wouldn't be judged by everyone as a Malfoy. Rose knows that a few years back he disowned me because I'd changed the Malfoy reputation so much. That didn't bother me though; it's not like he meant anything to me or I to him, and anyway, the Weasleys are my family and I haven't changed my appearance since I last saw my parents."

There was a silence in the room. Rose took his hand in hers by way of an unspoken comfort. He hated blatant sympathy or pity; it made him feel looked down on. The headmistress' face softened ever so slightly, having seen a different side to the boy who'd spent more time in this office than both Fred and George Weasley in their Hogwarts days.

"Well. It seems you have successfully fooled a great number of very advanced witches and wizards with this façade, Mr. Malfoy. I confess I never suspected anything – your father's family dropped off the radar when the war ended; I was never informed of who your mother was. I merely assumed you had taken after her rather than Draco." Scorpius flinched at the mention of his father's name – one which he so rarely heard let alone used. "And you have made no contact with either parent since your father told you…" she left the implication hanging, probably not wanting to trigger any unnecessary outrage or distress.

She didn't know the real Scorpius, only the mask he put up when he was in trouble. He did have a history of spontaneity, and it was crucial that he remain calm if they were to discover the reasoning behind the issue. He shook his head in response not looking up from Rose's hand clasped around his own.

"Well, then Mr. Malfoy. I think there is a suitable explanation. Is it possible that, because you have been accepted as this person, that there is a part of you who is afraid to let it go? Who thinks everything will change once you reveal your true image, and everyone will begin to judge you as your father? I am inexperienced with this depth of transfiguration, much as I might hate to admit it, but I believe this might be the case. As my predecessor Albus Dumbledore told me once, the mind is stronger than the spell. There is a fear, is there not, that you will lose everything that you have gained with the Weasleys? And, more specifically, with Rose?"

Scorpius' head shot up at the mention of her name, and both sets of eyes widened at this question. Rose was horrified that she could be the cause of Scorpius' current predicament. He appeared to be spiralling into a deeper depression; the surface was clearing rapidly, and she was beginning to see the underlying pain that tormented him. He'd always been so blasé about his family – how they abandoned him at such a young age, particularly his father. It probably hadn't had such a great effect on him until now. Now that he would want advice or a family member to talk to. Only the Malfoys knew their past properly; however much he insisted the Weasleys were his family, they weren't his only family.

Scorpius was shocked; it had never occurred to him, but this was it. It had always been there; the lack of security, the discomfort. He wasn't a fake – what he showed was him, but only part of him. The only time he'd ever opened entirely to someone was when he told Rose he loved her. That had been the hardest thing he'd ever done; harder than trusting her the first time he saw her. He knew he could trust her; he remembered that day so clearly, on the train. She never judged him, never questioned his choices, she accepted all of him in a way his parents had never accepted any part of him.

He was drawn from his epiphany as Professor McGonagall began to speak again, "as for you, Miss Weasley, you are a similar yet very different case. I don't believe your situation has anything to do with Mr. Malfoy. It is more likely that you are closer related to the image than the metaphor behind it. While Mr. Malfoy suffers from his history with his family, I think you have insecurity of a different sort. May I ask who chose?"

Scorpius' brow furrowed in confusion, "chose?"

"Then I assume it was Miss Weasley. _You_ would have had to make a conscious decision on the outcome, whereas Miss Weasley here only had to have it in the back of her mind. This is how you wanted to look." She stated, gesturing to Rose who blushed the same colour as her dress under the oversized robes.

"That might be true. But I didn't choose the dress."

"I'm sure you didn't" the headmistress implied, glaring at the male participant in the conversation. "But I think we have solved at least half of your problems. Mr. Malfoy is afraid, and you are insecure, not wanting to return to you usual appearance. Of course, that doesn't make it go away. You still have these fears and insecurities, only you are now aware of them. I will give you two weeks to right yourselves. You are very high standard students – the best in your year. With such outstanding OWLs I am certain this leave will not jeopardize your futures.

"You may inform Mr. Scamander of your departure, but speak to no one else. The last thing we need is a rumour spread that students are developing metamorphmagi symptoms. You have places to go to correct this. I would recommend you start with Draco Malfoy. That's as far as I can help you now."

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**A/N: Ok so it has taken on a slightly darker twist to previous chapters which have been relatively light-hearted. But after the last chapter I wanted to focus this on their current issues. The next chapter or two will probably feature their attempts to put stuff right. It might be crap, but I need your thoughts on it all. Please review!! xx**


	15. Pain

**A/N: It is slightly shorter than I planned, but it ended in the right place, I think. It's quite a dark chapter so I didn't want to draw it out too long. It's a necessary chapter, but very different to previous ones. Please review! I need opinions, especially since it takes a different path to the rest.  
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"I think maybe you shouldn't come in. I don't know how he's going to react to this." Scorpius hesitated at the door of his old home before knocking. "Really, you should wait here. No one's seen him since my mum left him. He probably belongs in St. Mungo's mental health unit by now."

Rose nodded, wordlessly stepping back from the door, concern written all over her face. Scorpius glanced back at her before knocking three times on the grand, ancient door of his past.

The heavy wood was flung open and in the doorway stood a woman who was definitely not his mother. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a sharp "Mr. Malfoy is seeing no visitors. Goodbye." She went to slam the door, which jammed against Scorpius' foot.

"I'm not a visitor. Who are _you_? His _whore_?" he spat at her nastily, the horrible memories from this place being dragged back into his mind which had begun to recover from the years of neglect. Rose flinched at the fury in his naturally calm, gentle voice.

"I am a healer." She replied frostily with a look of disgust on her face, not having appreciated his assumptions. "My _name_ is Lavender Brown. Who are _you_?" she added, emphasizing the fact that he should treat her as a person.

"I'm his 'son'" he made sure to emphasize the inverted commas. "Let me in or I'll hex you."

She smiled tightly at him. "You won't hurt me – you're a child." His eyebrows rose, and Rose winced where she stood; waiting to hear him fire a curse. "Your father is very ill. He is in no fit state to see anybody. Relatives or not, you will have to leave. I'm sorry."

"Well what the fuck is wrong with the old bastard then? He'd better be on his bloody death bed."

"You are a very bitter young man. I can tell there is much you need to discuss with him –"

"Damn right there is."

"-but he's not well. If you leave a number I will be sure to contact you when he has recovered."

"Bullshit." Scorpius shook his head and pushed past her into the house. "Where are you keeping him? He warned you I might be coming, huh?"

"He's in his bed, in his room!" Lavender replied exasperatedly, "Really, Mr. Malfoy, you shouldn't disturb him. It could affect his recovery; worsen his condition. You want him to get better don't you? You wouldn't want him to come to more harm, surely?"

Scorpius laughed humourlessly, turning his deep, dark eyes on her. They were filled with an anger and pain Lavender had never seen before. She'd lived through the Great War and the agonizing aftermath, but not once had she seen someone who had suffered as greatly as the man in front of her appeared to have done. She couldn't call him a boy – no young boy was capable of such emotion. This man was deeply troubled, and it scared to think that her patient was going to endure his full wrath. It was even more discomforting to know that he probably deserved it.

Lavender had known a lot of pain in her time; not only through her work. She remembered vividly how much her first boyfriend had meant to her, if for entirely the wrong reasons. She often found herself looking back on her time with him, wondering why she didn't appreciate him more. Then after the war, she realised how terrible her reputation had been, and she set out to change it. There were no more hidden agendas, no more obsessive dating and very little socializing.

Then she read it in a Prophet left in one of the waiting rooms; he was married, and she was crushed. She had no feelings for him, but it was then it became apparent that he was the reason she had changed. Then she had nothing to work for. It had been years before she stabilized, returned to her job and was now in a comfortable, steady relationship. Her experience was miniscule to what the man before her must have endured to be in such a state.

Lavender was committed to her patients; she was not allowed to tolerate angry visitors, in case it interfered with the patient. However, this case seemed too different to come under that rule. She may have been biased by her own past, but she was going to give this man his chance. Draco Malfoy had not been a cooperative patient; and while that was no reason to subject him to more pain, it did slant Lavender's resolve to allow his son to see him.

"I'm going to let you in. I warn you now; he is not looking his best and he hasn't had any human contact other than me since he left St. Mungo's two years ago. I don't know how he'll react to you." She spoke calmly, despite the fear and anger boiling in her stomach. She had known Draco Malfoy since she was eleven; she knew perfectly well how he could be.

"He's never reacted to me. I'm not here to converse. I'm here to talk and teach." He spoke with such venom that Lavender couldn't help but fear for her patient's life. He may deserve a bollocking but she couldn't allow a murder.

"Teach?" she enquired quietly, an octave or two higher than usual.

His eyes softened almost imperceptibly, recognising her fears. "Don't worry. I'm not a killer. I care about people, unlike him. I won't make you go through that. I swear I won't physically hurt him, even though I should. You're scared of him; I can see in your eyes. You work too hard, and he's a difficult person to care for? Your friends and family are getting concerned for your help because you're so dedicated to helping a sick yet pathetic man, right? I know the feeling, but no one was worried about me. If you don't want to hear what I tell him, you can go and talk to my girlfriend. She's waiting outside." He nodded to the door, a wave of happiness crossing his handsome features.

"Thank you. I will. Can I ask your name? Mr. Malfoy never mentioned a son." She recoiled in horror at what she had said, her eyes widening in shock. "I'm sorry, I –"

Scorpius shook his head at her, "Don't be. I'm not surprised. I'm a disgrace to him – technically I'm not his son. He disowned me when I was fourteen." He gave her a one-sided smile and turned up the stairs again. Having calmed down some, he hoped he would be able to talk to his father in a relatively composed manner. However, as he opened the door to the room he remembered as his parents all the feelings from the first decade of his life came flooding back.

"Get me a drink, Brown. I'm parched." The voice of his father came from the enormous four poster bed. For such an ill man his voice was exceedingly strong.

"I'm not _Lavender_." Scorpius responded, emphasizing the healer's name in an attempt to drill it in. Draco turned over in his bed to face the intruder.

"Then who are you? And how did you get in? Stupid woman; she always was totally useless. She can't even keep strangers out."

"I'm not a stranger either. However much I may wish it." Scorpius struggled to speak; his fists clenched tightly, jaw locked. He was having a hard time containing his rage after the way his father had spoken about the woman who was giving far too much to help him.

"Don't be so cryptic. Tell me."

"You'd think a father would recognise his own son, disowned or not." He snarled, on the verge of cursing him.

"Oh. It's you. What do you want?" He turned his back again, having lost interest in the conversation. This was enough for Scorpius; after everything he'd had thrown at him for eleven years of his life he deserved more than this.

"LOOK AT ME." He cracked, yelling at the dying man in front of him; slow, aged and paler than he'd ever seen him. "You _have_ to respect me. Look at you, you're pathetic. After the way you treated me and mum this is what you deserved. You can't even respect the woman who's keeping you alive. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LOOK AT ME."

Slowly, the broken man sat up in his bed, turning to face him full on. "I have nothing to respect you for. You're a child, a disappointment. You've done nothing to earn that respect. You don't even look like my son, how dare you call yourself that?"

"That's why I'm here. I don't call myself your son – I call myself a Malfoy. I've changed the Malfoy name, just like I changed my appearance. I'm here to show you that I'm better than you."

"You're nothing. How could you possibly be better?" Draco's pale, watered-down features twisted into an ugly sneer.

"I have people who love me. Better yet I have people who I love. You'll never have anyone to care about you. Mum didn't stay with you all those years because she loved you; she stayed because she had nowhere else to go, and no money. And she was scared of you. I have a real family, and a girlfriend, and friends who I care about and you have nothing, only your house, your money and yourself.

"Lavender's here because it's her job, but given the opportunity I will offer her, she'll most likely take it and run, and you'll be left to rot here on your own." Scorpius stood over his father's cowering form, his fury sparking angry tears in his eyes. "Mum left you because you beat her, like you beat me. But that won't happen again. You won't make anyone hurt again. Don't LOOK LIKE THAT. As if I would bother killing you. You think I would because it's something you would do. I'm not you; thank God for that. The Malfoys will be different now; you aren't worth the name and neither is your despicable father."

"Do NOT insult your grandfather." His voice was stronger than before; this was what he believed in. and Scorpius was disgusted.

"He isn't my grandfather. He's not fucking related to me and neither are you." Scorpius' arm flew back, and swung to collide with the older man's skull. And again. All the pain that had been inflicted on the attacker was now being returned to the victim.

The thuds echoed in Scorpius' ears, and like the possessive devil departing, the red hot fire left his eyes. He reeled back, shell-shocked by what he'd done. The body of his birth father lay crumpled on the floor, his soft breathing being the only sign of life. For a brief moment he considered helping him, moving his damaged body to the bed.

He considered it until he remembered, remembered how much he'd suffered at this man's hand and had to hide it. For eleven years before he was rescued, he'd endured beatings and neglect; it was incredible he was still capable of love. Slowly, Scorpius approached the head, which had begun to bleed on impact with the bed post and floor. He drew his wand, "scourgify."

Scorpius left the room, not looking back; his father had paid a small price.

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**A/N: Please don't hate Scorpius now! I needed to add depth to both characters, and I think it's important to know why they are how they are. Please review!! xx**


	16. Stone

**A/N: Hey guys, thanks for still reading and answering my poll (still open). It seems I will be taking this story beyond Hogwarts, and I must therefore get down to some serious planning! Thanks so much for reviewing and adding to favorites/alerts. Please do keep reviewing with comments on the story, or just random thoughts that happen to pass through your brain - they are very interesting to read. Thanks again, and keep reviewing - I will post again when I have 95 reviews, I know I will be able to update if we get the reviews because I have already started the next chapter, so you won't have to wait :) Reasonable? x  
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"What did you do to him? I heard the shouting from outside and I heard the thudding. You promised not to hurt him!" a very anxious Lavender met Scorpius as he closed the front door behind him. "I didn't come up in case I interrupted but he is alright, isn't he?" She begged for his honesty.

"Nothing particularly long lasting; he'll cope. But I have an offer to make you, Lavender, or a suggestion if you will. The Hogwarts matron retired recently and McGonagall will be looking for a new one soon enough. Unless you have any desperate desire to continue dealing with the hopeless case upstairs you could volunteer for the job. It will certainly be easier for you – more flexible hours. Perhaps your boyfriend would like to see you sometime?" His voice was bitter, thought the relief was there.

Rose could tell from where she stood that he could heal now. His father's influence had held him down, but now he had the chance to move on. She hoped she could get the same chance. She hadn't suffered the same way as he had; she'd been in the opposite conditions.

A life surrounded by beautiful cousins and a father who sheltered her from the world had led her to doubt herself in mind and image, even around Scorpius. However much she loved him, she knew she couldn't give him all of her until she was entirely sure of herself.

Lavender's eyes lit up at the prospect of leaving. Could she really get out? Have a job where she could go home at reasonable times, or at least get a decent night's sleep if she were to live at Hogwarts. But could she really just _leave_ a patient? However terrible he was, it wasn't moral to let him die. She faltered in her resolve, debating between what she believed was right and what she really wanted.

Scorpius saw her hesitation, and persisted. "I told him you would take it. If you don't he'll have won. It will make him worse – he'll know he has a strong hold over you and he'll push you further. Is that what you want? No, I didn't think so. Go whole you can; he's not worth it." She nodded, tears coming to her eyes in gratitude as she disapparated.

Rose took his hand, "how are you?" she whispered, glancing up at him with her clear, deep, blue eyes brimming with concern and affection.

"Not too bad, Bambi," he was unable to keep from smiling at her frown caused by his nickname. "I'm sorry, it's the eyes. But if it has this reaction, I will always call you Bambi." Rose asked sceptically.

"Hey!" Scorpius defended, "I'm big on muggle animated movies." Rose's eyes rose. "Fine, I was interested when I babysat Molly a couple of years ago."

"So you watched Bambi?" Rose laughed in disbelief. She was learning so much about Scorpius that she never would have suspected.

Scorpius decided that it would be easiest to let it all come out now. "Yes, and Jungle Book, and Lady and the Tramp. My favourite was Bedknobs and Broomsticks – that was a good one."

Rose collapsed, hammering the ground whilst Scorpius looked on, disapproving strongly of her amusement at his expense. But suddenly she stopped, and sat up, frowning. "Finished?" Scorpius glared down at her. He was not impressed.

"Molly doesn't _have_ Bedknobs and Broomsticks. I remember sorting through them last year; she never had that one. Where did _you_ see it?" She feigned innocence, but the laughter was poorly hidden beneath the surface. Just a slight confession would get her rolling on the floor again.

Scorpius looked a combination of frustration and discomfort. He looked at the ground, trying to come up with a feasible alibi. His brow furrowed in intense concentration. Eventually, he gave up; "I wanted to another one; I was in muggle-London for some godforsaken reason and I came across some place that sold them. They looked at me kind of funny though, as if it was weird to be buying about twenty discs."

"Twenty?!" Rose whispered, a wide grin plastered to her face and eyes sparkling with entertainment. She waited for a moment to judge his sincerity, and when it was established that he was being perfectly serious, she was hysterical once again. She wrapped her arms around his waist to stop herself falling again and cried with laughter into his stomach.

Scorpius sighed; there was going to be no stopping her. He held her tightly and disapparated from his former house.

The pair stumbled on impact with the ground. Rose had sobered up somewhat after the shock of the sudden transportation, and was now stabilizing her breathing by resting her head against Scorpius' shoulder, relaxing herself with the steady beat of his pulse. She closed her eyes; taking in only his presence.

"Where are we now?"

"Somewhere you need to be. You need to see this; I have a feeling this will help you. I can move on now, but you still have to prepare yourself. Go that way, I'll wait here." Rose glanced briefly in the direction he gestured lazily in. it appeared to be a wood; highly unreliable.

But she trusted Scorpius; she would go through it. Giving a light kiss to the resting boy – who looked peaceful with his eyes closed – she moved towards the wood. In front of her was a neatly gravelled pathway which crunched satisfactorily under foot.

She walked for several minutes through the repetitive surroundings; still oblivious to what was waiting at the end. She just hoped that it would be useful; that whoever it was would be able to show her the way to move forward.

The path widened into an open area; the silence of which induced further nervousness into the barely adult girl. If she hadn't been directed here by Scorpius, she knew she would have turned back already. He was the only person she could trust completely; more so than her family, because he knew her best. Maybe that was it? Did she have to have stronger faith in her family?

She would take this opportunity as far as she could; there was no reason why this should be more difficult that it was for Scorpius. Besides, no one had done her such wrongs that had been done to him, she bore no grudges. She wasn't upset with anyone; family or not. Who could this be to help her?

There was no one in the clearing. Was he making some kind of pathetic joke out of this? Get her hopes up for no reason? _No, no he wouldn't do that._ She repeated to herself, over and over in her head. It was true, of course it was! Scorpius loved her; he wouldn't hurt her. But nothing was there. What other explanation could there be?

She spun around, anger boiling in her veins. He had set her up to get rid of her, or get her lost. She faced the way she came and began to run, her eyes burning with tears of betrayal. She was almost as prone to overreaction as Scorpius by now, and in seeing no other option she had naturally jumped to the least realistic conclusion. Obvious to anyone but her, Scorpius would never do anything of the sort. It wouldn't even have occurred to him, and he'd be more than shocked to hear how little she expected of him.

Her foot collided with something hard and spherical, stopping her from making her dramatic exit. She bent and retrieved the obstacle which glinted in the early afternoon sun. She traced the flowing engravings with one finger, the memories of it speeding back.

'"_Accio snitch." He said forcefully, voice still low. They waited silently, both watching the sky. When nothing happened, Scorpius muttered, "should I try again, or –" but he was cut off by the soft fluttering of wings, and they looked up to see the small golden ball propelling towards them. He stretched out his arm and caught the ball before it could knock him out. He grinned at Rose, who rolled her eyes at the clichéd catch and gently pushed open the doors.'_

"How is this so significant?" she muttered, confused as she turned the heavy golden ball over in her hands, it was cool to the touch. "How will it help me? Help me." She whispered to the ball, not expecting anything to happen, more just acting on a crazy instinct.

It rotated in her palm, a low hum emitting as sections clicked apart and back together. It showed a stone. The stone her Uncle Harry had told her so much about when she was younger; the stone that showed the dead. How had it been found? It was true that Scorpius never actually returned it, but how was it found originally? Her uncle had told her it was lost in the woods forever.

Then the people appeared; two men and a woman, none of whom she'd met. However, one of the men looked very much like-

"How's Georgie-boy? Kept the store running I would hope? Managed to get a few more of the girls now that I've gone and popped?" the redhead stood on the left, chortling quietly to himself. She finally met her Uncle Fred! But the other two she barely recognised – maybe seen them in a family photo around the Burrow. The man looked tired, and his wife – it was clear that she was – stood loyally by his side.

"I'm sorry we never had the opportunity to meet in life; you are the daughter of Ron and Hermione, no doubt? I knew they'd be a couple eventually – you look a lot like them, you know." The man smiled warmly, emphasising the flaws in his aged features, but the darkness beneath his eyes fading slightly as his face lit up.

Although totally flabbergasted at the idea of conversing with dead people, Rose managed a stilted response. "Yes, I'm Rose. But I don't think I know you."

The woman grinned at her, "What, no one told you about us? I'm Tonks and this is my husband Remus. They really should have introduced us, at least photographically. Don't worry; I'll be having words with Harry in particular."

"But- how, how did you get here? H-how are you in the woods?" Rose needed to know; had Scorpius seen them? Had he used the snitch to talk to _his_ relatives?

"Sweetheart, we didn't even know where we were until you so thoughtfully enlightened us. But that's not important; what matters is why _you_ are here. Talking to a bunch dead people, shouldn't you be off snuggling with some guy in the Astronomy Tower?" Fred seemed incredibly off hand until he accurately assessed the dominating blush on his niece. "Ooh, Rosie! Who is he? You can tell us, what will we do about it?"

"Scorpius Malfoy." She didn't know why she told them; she just knew they were trustworthy, even if they were all dead.

Fred's cheeks puffed out, and a familiar glint of mischief reached his eyes. "I'll bet Ronnie wasn't too happy about that. My guess is that you were always pretty tight with Malfoy's kid until your hormones kicked in and you jumped on each other. It was only to be expected; you would defy the rules." He shrugged.

Tonks smiled kindly, "Is that why you need help? I'm a – well I was a metamorphmagus. I know you don't normally look like that."

"It's not entirely him. I mean he cast the spell, but I can't change back. There's some part of me that won't. That's not _his_ fault; I just won't let myself be me again. I don't feel like I'm good enough for him; that's why I'm like this."

"Not good enough now, or then?" she didn't respond. "Think of it this way, you knew him for six and a half years odd until, well, this. Has he ever done anything to suggest he objects to your appearance?"

Rose shook her head, and Tonks smiled in triumph.

"I never thought I was good enough for Tonks, you know. To old, too poor, too dangerous – those were the reasons I gave. But she was relentlessly persistent, and I never looked back. Do you actually think he'd judge you like that?"

"Even if he is a Malfoy, he can't be that materialistic if you went for him." Fred interjected, reasonably.

"No, he'd never do that. He's not like that."

"Then you shouldn't have this problem anymore. When you finally accept that he loves you, you won't care what you look like so much; he'll mean more to you than that. You'll be able to trust him more. At the moment you're lacking so much confidence that you've forgotten what is most important. Your happiness with Scorpius should count for a lifetime with the way you look just thinking about him. But that's not going to happen if you're not comfortable around each other."

Fred mimed vomiting from the other side of Remus. Rose smiled, finally realizing what they were getting at. In order to continue with her life, and Scorpius being in it, she had to let him in more. It was their mixed communications which had caused her to doubt him, and he her. He hadn't told her everything about his past because he didn't know if she could handle it. In the future that couldn't be an option. They had to be sure of one another to progress.

Rose pocketed the snitch and continued walking back towards where Scorpius sat waiting for her, a serene smile pinned to her face. She was relaxed now, she knew what would happen between them, and she was no longer afraid of it.

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**A/N: I confused myself writing this, in all honesty. If something confuses you or just doesn't make sense, please review (I don't often pick up PMs) and I will reply and try to explain. Thanks for reading!**

**Provehito in Altum  
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	17. Back

**A/N: Please review, it will help me write faster. And if I made anything unclear, you can let me know and I will explain. Your opinions are so important! Oh, and everyone watch out for new album by 30 Seconds to Mars, out 7/12/09 in UK, not sure about States. It will be awesome. Anyhow, please review! x**

**oh yeah, it's not mine.  
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They returned to Hogwarts two days later, having spent the time learning more about the other's past. They arrived in the Entrance Hall, both restored to their natural appearances, and met a highly disapproving Headmistress at the foot of the stairs.

"I see you have both managed to recover your bodies. It's good to see you back to normal, Miss Weasley, and it's good to finally see you, Mr. Malfoy. However, I'm not impressed by the idea of the pair of you taking time out of school to kindle a sexual relationship – oh don't look so shocked, Miss Weasley, it's written all over your faces.

"I am even less pleased that the associate I had watching you had the unfortunate image in his mind for several days until we could locate the right memory charm. You may or may not be aware that such mental atrocity has a far greater impact on a house-elf than a human, hence the lengthy recovery. I would recommend you take this into consideration next time you decide that frolicking in the midst of a forest is an appropriate idea.

"I will see you both in Transfiguration first thing tomorrow morning. You will not be late, and you will catch up all the work you have missed. For now, you will each go to bed in your _separate_ dormitories." The aging but still incredibly intimidating woman left them a pointed glare, before she spun on her heel and disappeared into the dark shadows of the dimly lit corridor.

Head hung in embarrassment, Rose grasped Scorpius' hand and together they traipsed up to Ravenclaw tower, barely registering the riddle they were required to answer. She deposited him at the bottom of the boys staircase. Ruffling his unusually blond hair, she kissed his paler lips – so different, yet it somehow felt so natural and familiar. Finally she felt comfortable to turn and leave him as she went to bed.

"Rose," he called after her, softly so as not to wake the Ravenclaw population, "we never got to pull off that thing at the start of term."

Rose groaned, "can't we discuss that in the morning?"

"Certainly, but rest assured that we will. McGonagall thinks we forgot because of our recent… distractions. We've got to show that she's wrong. You know, catch her off guard or whatever." His eyes were wide and sparkling, his speech so earnest. He reminded Rose of a small child. He got so excited about it; took it so seriously as though it were a full-time, paid occupation. He'd often argued that the various reactions qualified as payment, at which point Lysander had taken the opportunity to stare at his friend incredulously, silently questioning his rapidly deteriorating sanity.

"Okay, what are we going to do then?" She did her best to placate him without sounding condescending. She was tired; the last thing she needed was for him to get into a full blown step by step plan of the procedure tonight.

"The Astronomy Tower thing; it's simple, but if we do it at night and forge a letter with enough authenticity it could have a massive impact. I already started drafting the note; I'll try and get it done by morning. You know the spell to hide the author so we can make it totally anonymous, right?"

"Yes, I expect I can find it in one of my books, but aren't you absolutely shattered? How can you be thinking of anything vaguely constructive at this time of night?" he went to cut her off, "No, I won't have any excuses. Scorpius Malfoy, it is time for bed; no arguing. If you aren't bright and chirpy tomorrow morning I promise you, I will have something to say about it. Go on! Now! Get your arse up those steps, go!" She looked pointedly at the staircase behind him; gesturing with her eyebrows to retreat. He did so, hastily backing up the stairs with incredible ease and grace for a blind attempt.

He crept into the boys' dormitory, aware of the fellow Ravenclaws sleeping. "Well she was in a bad mood." He muttered to himself, wincing when the screeching reply of 'BED' reached his ears from the other side of the tower. He looked frantically around the room; how had no one heard that? Suddenly getting the uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched, Scorpius moved faster than ever before, making sure he was in bed before he could be attached from behind.

"Dude, you are whipped." Lysander shook his head at his friend in sheer disappointment. Not bothering to defend the truth, Scorpius sank his head down into his pillow and gazed up at the deep blue draping on his four-poster. His sleep was peaceful; there was nothing to worry about anymore.

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His head collided painfully with the hard wooden floor as he was catapulted from his comfortable sleep by a highly amused Lysander. "You're a dead man walking, Sand." Came the muffled yell from beneath the heavy sapphire quilt which had fallen on top of him, his words were slurred and croaky with sleep. Lysander whipped the quilt off quickly, startling his friend with the sudden rush of cool air to his bare back.

He grinned, "Well, mate, at least I'm walking."

Scorpius scowled, jumping to his feet and tossing his cover onto the bed. He grabbed his clothes from the back of his chair feeling an odd sense of déjà vu of the trumpet incident. Rose crashed into her boyfriend as he jumped down the last step into the common room. "Scor!" she hissed, her eyes wide with shock, "What do you think you're doing? Put some freaking clothes on!"

She was fully aware of the giggling third years ogling his well-defined chest behind her; "Ohmygod look at _him!_ Since when was _he_ a Ravenclaw?" and a dreamy

"Could you imagine if all boys looked like that?" as well as the jealous

"What does Rose Weasley want with him? Scorpius not enough for her?" and the most amusing,

"If he looks like that why doesn't he replace the ugly Beater on the Quidditch team?"

Scorpius leaned around Rose to raise an eyebrow at the disturbing gaggle of little girls, who proceeded to collapse into further high-pitched giggles. Rose delivered a well-timed death glare, giving them the opportunity to leave, which they did amidst arguments of "He looked at me" and "No, he looked at _me_, what would he want to look at _you_ for?"

"Don't you go looking so smug Scorpius Malfoy. You should be ashamed of yourself; corrupting the innocent hearts and minds of thirteen year old girls." Rose did her best to keep her frowning eyes focussed solely on his face.

"Rose you really shouldn't be so ashamed of me, I am what I am." He replied condescendingly, not in the least fazed by her reprimand. "Anyway, you didn't mind me corrupting _you_."

Rose hit him.

"Now, now. Let's keep that kind of behaviour to an absolute minimum in public, yes?" Lysander broke the playful exchange as he entered the Common Room. "Oi Malfoy. Put some clothes on, or I swear I'll drag you to breakfast as you are. You might be perfectly comfortable with little girls' eyes glued to your body, but you may feel differently about the majority of the female faculty and indeed the male.

"Then again it may cause your head to expand further, which would provide endless entertainment for us all when you try to use the doors. It's your decision, but just to warn you." He shrugged, a small smirk evident on his face as he slumped into a royal blue armchair to wait.

"Hey Sand? How come you could recognise Scor?"

"You didn't honestly think I'd not recognise my best friend? Please, I always had my suspicions when you looked nothing like your parents. No offence, but it was a bit extreme, I reckon everyone had their doubts but let it slide since you were so unlike your dad anyhow.

"And have you forgotten the little palaver we had on the train? I guessed that when you came back you'd be different. Seriously, it's not _me_ you have to worry about – there's a whole school out there with whom you are immensely popular – or old you was – and though most of the teachers will make the connection, the kids are mainly oblivious and will see you as a total stranger. But… if you go around like _that_? You shouldn't have a problem." He gestured to Scorpius' lack of shirt.

Scorpius ignored this jibe; "so why the terrifying and revenge worthy wakeup call this morning?"

"Meh, I'd missed you. It's a sign of affection buddy."

Rose held Scorpius back with great effort as he tried to tackle his friend to the ground. Again.

Lysander sauntered towards the portrait hole, "I said I'd meet Amelia, we'll see you at breakfast – dressed. Or not, up to you." He slid through the hole allowing it to swing shut behind him.

* * *

It had taken Scorpius twenty full minutes to return to the common room fully clothed. Rose looked him up and down trying to find any drastic change. "What could you possibly have been doing?! You've put a shirt and jeans on!"

"Yeah, I had to finish that letter."

"Now?!"

"Sure, why not? But it's done now, so we can go try to fill your bottomless stomach. It's ridiculous how much you eat and yet manage to maintain such a perfect figure." He shook his head in amazement, and Rose chose not to point out how incredibly camp he'd managed to sound in that last sentence.

"Shall we?" he dipped into a bow, gesturing for her to leave first. She smiled at his mock chivalry – he never realized how much of a gentleman he was. Even when he was afraid, she was always the most important thing to him. She couldn't have asked for anyone better.

They rolled into breakfast unnoticed by most. It was interesting how the traditional House Tables idea was completely thrown aside, as all four houses merged together. Couples sat opposite one another and small cliques separated themselves from other students. It was a different kind of divide; previously chosen by a hat, now chosen by the community, which was a much happier one because of it.

Scorpius had expected to be stared at; he was walking in with one of the most famous girls in the school, and nobody should recognise him. Yet he couldn't find it in him to worry about it; he hadn't changed, he was the same person who had grown to be throughout his time at Hogwarts.

He knew that when he graduated, he would also remain the same person, particularly if he had Rose beside him. He didn't depend on her, and she not on him, but they needed each other. That had been demonstrated as they helped the other find themselves over the past few days. Professor McGonagall wasn't capable of miracles; she barely knew them as people, only trouble. At least that's what they thought.

Breakfast was relatively uneventful. Lysander's clumsiness was again revealed to the Hall as he splattered poached egg across Amelia's arm whilst making uninformative hand gestures, Scorpius failed on multiple occasions to spear a single rasher of bacon with his fork, and Rose choked on her pumpkin juice when Lysander made a particular comment.

"Are you serious?" Rose's jaw hit the floor as she gaped at her friend across the table. Lysander merely raised his eyebrows, evidently surprised by her reaction. "Marriage? Sand you just turned seventeen last month!"

"Why wouldn't I be serious, Rose? I know I'm supposed to be with Millie, and she already said yes." His eyes slid subconsciously to look at the girl beside Rose. She'd grown up over the last three years since she'd begun dating Lysander. She was far more mature than the rest of the sixth year girls, and was one of very few in a serious relationship. She was definitely good for Lysander, and the match wasn't what Rose was shocked about.

"It's just that you're both so young! Neither of you have finished school yet, Millie still has a whole year left. Wouldn't you prefer to have both settled into a comfortable job and living environment before you think about marriage? It's not that you don't pair well; you two are perfect, but isn't it something you could regret doing so soon? Obviously, if it's what you choose, I'm totally on board."

She meant it; Lysander was like a brother to her, and Amelia was probably her best girl friend who wasn't family. If it was what they wanted, she would completely support them, but another view point was always a good thing to hear.

"Thank god for that. I wanted you to be my Maid of Honour. Or _Matron_." Amelia's eyes lit up as she glanced slyly at Scorpius who paid unusual attention to his scrambled egg. This went unnoticed by Rose – Scorpius sighed in relief – but not by Lysander, whose eyes narrowed at the idea of Scorpius marrying Rose before them; he always got the best ideas. He'd grill his friend on the subject later. For now there were more pressing matters, namely the small blonde Gryffindor Arabella White who headed towards the group with a look of determination on her face.

"What have you done with Scorpius? How DARE you cheat on him?" she slapped Rose around the face. Rose reached for her wand. All hell broke loose.

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**A/N: Hope you liked it! Please review with comments etc. x**

**Provehito in Altum  
**


	18. Amelia

**A/N: This chapter gives quite a flashback, giving the thoughts and feelings of a character I've slightly overlooked. I hope you guys don't mind going back over some stuff from a different perspective, I don't think it's too repetitive! As always, please review with thoughts/ideas/suggestions. Enjoy x**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine. Shocking that...  
**

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Amelia was a quietly confident girl, a good student who generally kept her head down and got on with her academia without complaining. She'd never really clicked with her hear socially though, and her mother worried however much she tried to hide it.

Amelia came home for Christmas in her first year without the buzz of new friends all around her. Her elder sister Delia had been much more of a socialite during her years at school, always bringing home new boyfriends and spending her holidays at parties or staying with friends. It had concerned her mother when Amelia appeared friendless. But the adolescent girl didn't mind; she had no desire for romance so young. She wasn't hated by her classmates and had no prejudice against them; she just never got particularly close to any of them.

That was before she met Lysander. She'd never had any contact with him, what with being a year below. She had seen him, of course; he spent the majority of his time with Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley – probably the most famous students in the school, not always for the best reasons. All of her classmates seemed to have developed a necessity to fawn over Scorpius; he was 'so hot'. But she felt differently; she had no intention of standing out or thinking a different way, it was just the case.

Scorpius seemed very intimidating to her, like she would have to actually know him to understand his erratic behaviour, and it was clear that he belonged with his redheaded partner in crime, even if the drooling girls opted to ignore this.

She preferred the less troublesome one. Lysander was a particularly hard working Ravenclaw, though he'd found the right balance in spending time with his friends. They'd never been able to influence him into their disruptive ways, and she admired them all for this. Scorpius and Rose evidently respected his preference not to involve himself in their extra curriculum, and he was strong enough to tell his friends this. He always seemed like a safe person, less high maintenance, and less likely to delve into dark situations. She needed someone safe.

She remembered the first day clearly, like it was imprinted in her mind. She remembered the train leaving early and being extremely glad to be on it already! She was walking down the carriage, and glanced briefly into each compartment absent-mindedly. He was there; sitting comfortably on one of the couches, watching his two friends laughing childishly at the people still on the platform.

She watched him from outside the sliding door, careful not to be seen. He looked so gentle, harmless, and so approachable. At that moment she was grateful to her little brother, Damien, for screaming so loudly that her mum had had to whisk him out of the station so they didn't draw attention to the barrier taking young witches and wizards to platform 9 ¾. If he hadn't been so angry for whatever reason, she'd have been left on the platform with everyone else. It was a kind of fate – however pathetic and ridiculous that sounded. But she knew better than to waste such an opportunity.

She wasn't an inexperienced dater as such, at least not up to the part of being asked out. Many boys had shown an annoyingly persistent interest – namely Rose's sixth year cousin James Potter who seemed to be under the impossible impression that she would change her mind about the four or five rejections she'd given him in due course. It wasn't about having high standards, or just being intentionally difficult, but Amelia thought it was important to at least have one conversation with each other before dating.

She was sure James had only asked her to Hogsmeade because she appeared to be a beauty that would be easy to finish with, being so young. She hadn't rejected him immediately; she'd asked if they could talk. Then his face had sunk into one of disgruntlement, and her suspicions were confirmed. He wasn't a complex person; relatively easy to read unlike Scorpius. His intentions were always written all over his face. Lysander wasn't like that, as she found out when they shared the train journey together.

Like any girl would be, she was petrified when she knocked on the door of the compartment containing three fifth year students, none of whom she'd ever conversed with. Lysander's expression when she addressed him was terror. Either she disgusted him visually, or a girl had never spoken to him before in his life. The latter option concerned Amelia with Rose standing not two metres away. She backed out of the compartment; knowing instantly that she must have been out of her mind.

Her voice shook as she apologized, trying to keep the self-cursing from leaving her mouth. She could picture herself stumbling with surprise when Rose gripped her arm, dragging her back. Amelia had honestly never been more terrified in her life. He was the first person she'd ever been vaguely interested in for all of her time at Hogwarts. All she could think about was that something had possessed her to put herself in the most vulnerable position.

In just a few seconds she had felt all of the colour drain from her face; her knees almost giving way, suddenly weak and desperately wishing she hadn't gotten on the train early. She focussed her mind on remaining vertical, only drawn back to the current situation by the angry hiss from the young man she'd developed such affection for. The whole experience had made her dizzy, and she didn't know what to think when the sopping wet boy was pushed towards her, but she felt her eyes widen up at him in fear and she remembered the warm, comfortable feeling that had overwhelmed her when he had smiled at her.

Yes, it sounds soppy and clichéd to you, but when it happens, that won't matter. She knew this; Amelia had never expected to gain much from her life. She just carried across the run of the mill quietly, barely noticed until she found the only important person. They spent the next hours to Hogwarts on the train talking in an empty compartment. It was amazing how easily the conversation flowed; it didn't have to mean anything, half of the discussion was completely irrelevant.

But she knew; she knew he was who she was meant to be with. Who else could there be? He was there, right in front of her, perfection because of his flaws. And now they were getting married. Two years together had been enough to know. Rose had been shocked; she'd grown to be Amelia's closest thing to a sister at Hogwarts, and was subconsciously protective. But there was no other way to go; Amelia's fate was settled with the seventh year Ravenclaw, and in short years she would become Mrs. Lysander Scamander; a title she would hold with pride.

Now her legs swung slowly over the edge of the bridge. She had no sentimental attachment to this place until recently. It had been sudden and entirely unexpected; she'd thought they'd at least have finished school! Nevertheless, it was here; behind her on the cobbled pathway where Lysander had plopped down on one knee in front of her in the unpredicted snow fall and produced the small red velvet box. It was the box which cased the sparkling diamond ring which now sat comfortably on her third finger where it looked entirely at home; as if it had been there throughout her whole life.

"Millie!" she heard his voice calling to her from the castle, and her reminiscing of their time together grinded to a halt in the present. "Millie," Lysander panted, completely breathless, his dirty blond hair in windswept disarray. "You've… got... to see this. They've… done it again." He took her left hand in his right and he directed her towards the Astronomy Tower. Amelia's eyes narrowed as she registered something relating the Astronomy Tower to Rose and Scorpius. They'd been planning something here, but had clearly kept it well under the radar.

"Mr. Scamander; would you please escort Miss Rumi back to Gryffindor Tower; we are, as of yet, unaware of the seriousness of this event, and would like to investigate further before addressing the student body." Professor Flitwick squeaked timidly up at the towering seventh year, his small, aged features wrinkled in confusion and fear. Lysander hesitated, glancing over the old wizard's head to see Professor McGonagall firing repetitive hexes at what appeared to be a chalk line. He nodded briefly at the dwarf and took Amelia's hand again.

"Sand, we have to find Rose and Scorpius." She whispered as they walked away from the scene quickly.

"Mills, please, they didn't do this. Nah, this is serious – they wouldn't hurt someone; let alone kill them. I thought they might have had something to do with it, but I didn't see what it was. It looked like one of those muggle pikey things."

"You mean 'police', love."

He smiled, "yeah, that. But really, we can ask them, but I know they didn't hurt anyone." His face was insistent, determined. His friends were trouble, but not killers; they got their kicks from pissing off the Headmistress and Filch as well as the rest of the staff on occasion. They'd never bring anyone to unnecessary harm, with, of course the exception of the Daniel Morris incident several years ago.

Rose and Scorpius lounged in the Ravenclaw common room and barely registered the portrait hole opening. Rose stretched sleepily across Scorpius' lap as he slouched lazily in the colossal armchair, gazing relentlessly at the flickering fire for no apparent reason. Or at least, the reason wasn't obvious to those not in their dormitories. Lysander knew perfectly well that Scorpius had spent a good three hours not in his bed. Evidently the effects were now beginning to show.

Scorpius was jerked awake by a well aimed text book to the side of his head. Rose was catapulted out of her comfortable position as he flew to his feet in shock. "Right!" Lysander yelled, sounding remarkably like a terrifying sports instructor. "Malfoy, don't you look at me like that; you know what you did. Stand up straight; stop slouching, slacker. Weasley that expression won't get you anywhere. Look at me; not the window. Now, I am going to give you a chance to explain yourselves." He glared at them furiously.

Rose smirked, unfazed by his ire. Scorpius made the biggest mistake; "Sand, mate, stop being a tosser." Sand threw another textbook narrowly avoiding slicing off his ear. "Merlin, Scamander! What do you want to go killing him for?" Rose stared at him, horrified that Lysander would do such a thing.

"Why did you want to push the guy off the Astronomy Tower? Please, you don't think anyone took that crappy suicide note seriously, did you? Scor your hand prints were all over it – they used muggle stuff to see it. Just because you disguised the author, you can't disguise the one who touched it. So come on, I'm giving you a chance. Who dya kill and what the fuck made you do it? I'm sure there's a pretty good reason." Lysander breathed heavily after the excessive shouting which his lungs weren't used to. He was really riled up; his face drenched in fury.

"You really think we'd _kill _someone? Jeez, mate. I know we're not exactly the most truthful and honourable people at Hogwarts, but could you seriously see us doing that?" Scorpius had recovered from his near ear-loss and now stared his friend dead in the eyes, looking slightly hurt.

"So…wait, you _didn't _kill anyone?" Lysander's eyes flicked between his two friends' to try and detect a hint of falsity.

There was a grand sigh from the window ledge where Amelia had been perched since she entered with her fiancé – it still felt weird to her. "Really, Sand, you didn't think they would, did you?" Her expression of incredulity was marred slightly by her loving eyes as she addressed him.

"But you said –"

"No, I didn't. I said they almost definitely had something to do with it." She laughed softly as his expression went from angry to extremely confused. "Ever consider the possibility that _no one _died?" She hinted, biting her lip so as not to laugh at him. Scorpius and Rose were in a similar situation behind him.

He whirled back around to face the couple who did their very best to suppress the childish giggle fits threatening to surface. "So you didn't…"

Both shook their heads.

"You forged the whole…"

Both nodded guiltily.

"Damn it, I was scared shitless by that." Lysander sank into the recently vacated armchair, rest his head back and closed his eyes. Amelia chuckled quietly and went to sit at his feet as a silent comfort. "You know you're screwed though? I wasn't making up the muggle stuff; they had a load of metal contraptions lingering around. Could be your ticket out guys." His voice was tired after using so much energy shouting; his eyes remained closed.

Rose rolled her eyes, "Nah you're reading too much into this, Sand. We didn't hurt anyone. It's no more of a big deal than anything else we did. I don't reckon they've actually had such a hissy fit over this; they were probably looking at something else."

"Or not." Scorpius was looking out of the window. Every occupant of the room turned to look at him at the notes of fear and horror in his voice, and his expression matched these feelings. Hearts plummeted as the three others walked slowly towards the slim slit in the wall, expecting the worst.

They got what they expected.

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**A/N: Oooh ominous. Anyhoo, please review :)**

**Provehito in Altum  
**


	19. Fall

**A/N: Literally just in time for Christmas! Happy holidays everyone, and please review as usual! x  
**

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Scorpius' arm snaked subtly around Rose's waist, dragging her back from the glassless window so she wouldn't have to witness the scene below. The common room was deadly quiet; the blazing fire seemed to be roaring louder than usual.

"I don't understand." Lysander's voice was hoarse as though he was talking to himself, which he may have been. He sank back into his recently vacated armchair. Amelia curled shaking into his side, her face paler than the motionless figure lying on the ground. Silent tears ran down from her eyes, though she seemed not to have noticed.

"Who is it? Scor, I'm not five. Let me see!" Rose glared at him, her pools of blue freezing over to eyes of steel. He held her off, not allowing himself to be drawn in again by her determination.

"I couldn't recognize her." He responded truthfully but refused to loosen his grip.

"But it was a girl?"

He nodded reluctantly, "A blonde. She was face down though, and there were loads of people surrounding…her body. I didn't see her face."

"What…what happened to her?" Rose sounded timid, her eyes sad. It was an aspect of her that she rarely exposed; only when there was something far more important did she willingly make herself so vulnerable.

"I expect she fell or…jumped from the tower. But they must have seen her before she hit the ground; broken her fall – her body wasn't badly mangled." He looked sick and uncomfortable relaying this information, as if it wasn't his business to talk about it. He was clearly grateful to be relieved of further questioning as the portrait swung open and an ever graceful Headmistress swept through, dressed solely in an ominous black.

"Miss Weasley, I'd like a word." The terrifying witch masked her shaking voice well, but Amelia was concerned; this must have something to do with the girl who fell. Rarely if ever had she seen her headmistress look so disturbed.

Rose walked towards the portrait hole, not taking her eyes off the professor. Amelia could practically see her brain retracing the steps of the past few days, trying to figure out what she'd done. As far as she knew, she wasn't guilty of anything that didn't involve Scorpius in one way or another, but McGonagall hadn't requested his presence for their conversation.

Scorpius hesitated as they both left the room. He suddenly felt like something was missing, and found himself shivering, though the sun basked the scarlet carpeting in its light. He was thinking along the same lines as Rose, though naturally to more drastic conclusions.

He'd not left Rose alone in the past twenty four hours. How could she possibly have anything to do with the blonde who lay motionless so many metres below? She didn't even know who it was! And she'd never hurt anyone; she was far less likely to than him, and he couldn't imagine himself bringing any innocent person to intentional harm.

"Miss Weasley, I never wish to be the bearer of bad news. I assure you, I intend only to uncover a realistic and honest conclusion. I would like to ask you a few questions – none of which are attached to any form of accusation. From your expression, it is clear that you have at least a faint recollection of what I am referring to. We are doing our best to keep the situation quiet until we have a full understanding of what has caused this tragedy."

Her eyes filled with what could be mistaken for tears, but Rose knew better than to think that of Professor McGonagall. "Never… not in the history of the school…" she trailed off into a train of personal thought, which Rose had no choice but to interrupt.

"Professor, please tell me what's going on. I know someone fell, or something, but Scorpius wouldn't let me see. I don't know who it is, or if she's going to be alright." She hurried, desperately hoping she would be told. It could have been one of her cousins; though she didn't think Scorpius would have kept it from her if it had been someone so close.

"Arabella White. I believe you crossed paths briefly on Tuesday morning during breakfast. I was absent from the High Table, but Professor Longbottom informed me of the havoc wreaked by several of the students. Both of your names were included, accompanied by Mr. Malfoy's as was to be expected." Her piercing eyes dipped into a scrutinizing frown as she assessed Rose's reaction.

"That is primarily why I am discussing this with you. Professor Longbottom omitted to tell me the origin of the argument. His only comment regarding you girls was that it was you who were the pair he was forced to break a physical confrontation between. Would you care to enlighten me as to what led to that particular argument – although wouldn't 'animalistic behaviour' be a more appropriate description?"

"I… we… she has always had a kind of a thing for Scor. The 'other looking' Scorpius, that is. So when we came to breakfast, and he was not looking like he used to, she had a meltdown. She accused me of cheating, slapped me, I retaliated and it pretty much escalated from there. But I can't believe someone would go out of their way to hurt her so badly." Rose was dumbfounded at the idea of throwing someone off a tower. "I mean, sure, she's a real pain in the as-um, foot, but I can hardly _blame_ her for liking Scor; he _is_ basically perfect." She shrugged, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Um, has that, you know, helped at all? Like will you be able to find out what happened to her now? Or is there something else I could do? Should I take her something in the Hospital Wing? Did she get transferred to St. Mungo's yet? I mean, is it that bad?"

The Headmistress frowned as the babbling redhead continued to talk. She had taught at Hogwarts for many years; come across countless children who were struggling to find themselves in the magical community, and yet never had she met someone quite like Rose Weasley, or indeed, her undoubtedly lifelong companion.

It was remarkable how a girl who must have grown so used to being in trouble wasn't in the least bit defensive during the whole mildly interrogative process. It seemed there was no reason to assure her against the possibility of accusation, for the idea had apparently never occurred to her. Professor McGonagall had never really considered the troublesome seventh year to be responsible for this event, but was shocked by the way she didn't even see herself attached to it; not even slightly self-protective.

The ageing woman hesitated before interrupting; "Miss- Miss Weasley, I'm afraid I cannot yet disclose any information regarding her fate. However, I must ask; the concern amongst the staff is that you girls never really saw eye to eye – particularly due to your relations with Mr. Malfoy. I urge you, if you know anything about what might or might not have happened to result in this tragic event, please inform either myself or another member of staff."

Rose's eyes widened as the realization dawned on her; she was a potential suspect because of what she'd gotten herself into on Tuesday. She could understand how that was to be considered, looking at her history with the snooty Gryffindor, but couldn't imagine ever hurting her. What surprised her most, though, was that the woman who had indirectly delivered this information to her did not seem to include herself in that suggestion.

Rose was drawn from her reverie by the next words, "On the related subject of Mr. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall added pointedly, regaining Rose's attention. "Perhaps you would consider having words regarding his exceedingly protective ways. For example, I was perfectly aware of his discomfort when you left the common room with me earlier. I think that if you are able to convince him that not everybody has a hidden agenda to hex you, he will be able to sleep soundly at night." Rose's shock only increased as she rolled her eyes – had she seen right?

"Right, well, I believe that will be all Miss Weasley. It would be greatly appreciated if you refrained from mentioning this conversation to anybody – including your besotted significant other." She glanced briefly over the young woman's head and sighed in irritation, "I can see him coming now. Remember what we discussed." She glared momentarily into Rose's eyes before departing swiftly, her dark emerald velvet robes billowing out behind her despite the lack of wind.

Rose smiled to herself as two arms wrapped tightly around her waist from behind. She even felt her eyes roll; now that it had been pointed out to her, it was far more obvious that Scorpius was overly concerned for her safety. Knowing this, she still couldn't bring herself to complain; caring about someone wasn't a crime and it obviously hadn't occurred to him because he just wasn't the type to consciously pay avid attention to a specific person, whoever it was.

He wasn't comfortable separated from Rose; and this wasn't something he was used to feeling. It's not like he was obsessive, but he had some kind of need to look after her; the sort of need his father never had for his mother. Not that he was thinking about marriage, but it was the same principle.

"How much of that did you hear?" Rose asked, leaning back against his chest.

He grinned, but gave nothing away, "That depends. How confidential was the conversation?"

She tilted her head back to look up at him. "Completely."

The grin grew even wider and less innocent. "Perfect; I made sure I got every word."

It wasn't unexpected, but it still annoyed her. "Scor, you really shouldn't." she huffed disapprovingly, "One day you're going to hear something you don't like and you know that could cause all kinds of trouble, particularly for the poor soul who made the mistake of speaking." He tried to interrupt, but Rose wasn't having any of it.

"Oh, and even more so if you didn't hear the whole conversation; what would happen if you tagged onto the end and misinterpreted it? Honestly, sometimes you just don't think!" she sighed in exasperation. Sometimes it was like talking to a four year old who just refuses to learn.

Her fury was enhanced as Scorpius stood impassively before her, unaffected by the minor outburst. He waited calmly with a raised eyebrow and a poorly hidden smirk as she controlled her breathing. "Rose, babe, I'm not _always_ serious y'know? I mean, I'm known to joke around every now and again though I appreciate that I tend to be a bit of a downer. Nevertheless—"

"Not. Funny. Malfoy." Rose glared up at him, evidently not impressed. "You have no idea how scared I was that McGonagall would think I told you after she specifically told me not to! You know she creeps me out enough; I don't need her to think I disobey her direct orders!"

"You disobey orders the whole time." Scorpius shrugged, not really seeing the big deal. He rubbed his left arm where it had been recently punched; shielding it from further attack if he were to make a similar mistake again. She glared at him; he knew it wasn't the same thing.

"Why are you getting so angry? Is there something you want to tell me? Or don't want to but should." She was entirely unresponsive to his hopeful questions. "Come on, Rose; we both know you're not the one who's prone to overreaction, we both know that you've never gotten that mad at me before. Yet you know full well that I'm practically a child." He added as a confessional afterthought.

He grinned irresistibly at her – she'd give in soon. If he was sufficiently patient, he would be forgiven. However, he certainly knew her better than to approach her right now – especially if he wanted to keep his bruises to the bare minimum.

She stood relatively still, her eyes visibly debating whether to forgive him or string the grudge out a little longer. It was a challenging decision to make; both being incredibly stubborn, it was always hard to admit the other was right. However, it was just as hard to go an extended length of time unhappy with each other.

Eventually, the idea of arguing began to look less and less inviting, and Rose slowly swallowed her pride, stepping towards Scorpius without looking him in the eyes – it was humiliating enough to be the one caving. A small smile graced her features as he held her in his arms; her favourite place to be, though one would be hard pushed to get her to admit it. He rolled his eyes as he bent his head over her fiery locks.

They never seemed to find something worth fighting about; it was always petty and unimportant. Perhaps that was a sign that they were just meant to be together; not supposed to fight, but didn't know how to act properly as a couple.

The comfortable, sentimental moment was interrupted by an unavoidable gagging sound which originated from a clearly disgusted Louis who had been unfortunate enough to stumble upon the romantic scene as he passed. "Guys, this is happening way too often."

"For God's sake Louis, go get yourself a girl. You're just jealous because you're lonely!" Rose didn't bother looking up; she was too comfortable where she was to waste time looking at her cousin.

"Well aren't you the hopeless romantic," Louis sneered, apparently not appreciating the suggestion that he wasn't good with girls.

"Fine, Louis. Go find some guy you like. I'm not one to judge." Scorpius sounded exasperated as well as irritated at this unnecessary interruption, but still seemed to be deadly serious. The more Rose thought about it, the more it was true – it wasn't in Scorpius' nature to judge. To mock, yes.

Hugo appeared, sprinting up the staircase, visibly out of breath. It was then that they realized that they'd been standing in the strangest place; the centre of the corridor which may have looked unusual to passers-by. "Rose…you're….here…" he panted, struggling to get it out without fainting.

"Yes, I'm here, Hugo. What's the problem?"

"You have to… come to the… Great Hall." He slumped cross legged to the floor as he tried to regain his strength and continue talking. He gazed dizzily up at them, "it's about… the girl. The girl who fell."

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review with whatever you want to say. x**

**Provehito in Altum  
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	20. Betrayed

**A/N: Wow, quick update for me! Hope you all had a good Christmas! I really should be studying, but... well I have no excuse. Anyhow, it's a bit of a dramatic chapter, I hope it's realistic. I wanted to add an interesting twist to this story and this has been brewing in the back of my mind for a while now. Enjoy and please review as usual!  
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The Great Hall was packed; the long tables had been moved to the sides of the room and the middle was full of chattering students trying to get closer to the front. The reason being that the majority of those present had absolutely no idea what was going on. It had been kept quieter than expected, since gossip normally spread around the castle like wildfire. Rose, Scorpius, Lysander, Amelia and Hugo slipped in silently at the back in order to avoid being dragged forward.

Rose scanned the crowd as far as she could; there appeared to be no one in charge. No teacher or prefect was anywhere to be seen. She frowned, this was highly unusual. There was always someone around. "Scor, where's McGonagall?" she asked in whispers. Maybe she was going crazy and just didn't spot the ageing witch.

Scorpius glanced around before shrugging. Rose broke away from them despite the protest in Scorpius' body language and slipped between students chattering away or sitting in a small circle playing with the Exploding Snap cards she recognised from Uncle George's shop. They were the new stock, and she knew perfectly well that they were rather temperamental; occasionally spitting Every Flavour Beans if one player tried to cheat.

She was concentrating on not being hit by these flying beans, leading her to walk straight into Professor Longbottom. "Neville! What's going on? Where's McGonagall? Is Amelia going to be alright? What happened?" she spoke louder than she should; so relieved to have found some kind of authority – however unusual that feeling was.

"Rose! Shh! You have to be quiet. Come with me." Neville Longbottom beckoned to her to follow but she felt something pulling her back. She rolled her eyes knowing exactly who it was before she turned around. "Scor let me go. Neville is one of my parents' best friends. Why in Merlin's name would he hurt me? Get a grip, Scor; I'm not going to put up with this overprotective nonsense for much longer." She scowled furiously at him.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her irrational behaviour. She never got so uptight about stuff, particularly not where he was involved. "Uh, okay." His brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what was going through her mind. "I was just gonna say I found McGonagall." He shrugged, gesturing to the tall pointy hat just visibly stepping up to the podium at the front of the Hall. She looked guiltily at the floor, embarrassed by her accusations. Scorpius gently pushed her towards Professor Longbottom who waited impatiently several feet away.

He wasn't going to show it, but Scorpius had been hurt by her words. He wasn't overprotective was he? It wasn't as though he smothered her; didn't let her talk to other guys. Admittedly, the guy in question had to either be related to her or at least dating someone else, preferably the first option. "Go on then; don't let me stop you. Just don't come at me with crap about Neville hurting you again; how do you think it makes me feel to hear you consider that? It's sick, that's what it is. I couldn't see Neville hurting anyone, least of all his _goddaughter._" Scorpius reminded her, harshly and furiously before turning his back on her, walking in the direction of Lysander.

Rose briefly considered following Scorpius, but decided against it. There was something more important going on. If she caught up with him now they'd just end up shouting at each other, then eventually settling their argument and get distracted in their own world for hours. That world was her favourite place to be, and in other circumstances she would have followed without a second thought. She smiled slightly to herself as she fell into step swiftly behind Neville. He led her through the side door at the front of the Hall, parallel to the podium where Professor McGonagall now stood speaking to the student body which was strangely silent.

Rose managed to catch a few words as she ducked between other children. "One of our own… we must stand together… family… curfews… off limits until further notice… not alone…" The door slammed behind her, drowning out the speech from the other room. Rose turned to face her godfather – she cringed at the memory of the words Scorpius had thrown at her before, even though he was completely right.

"First of all, Rosie, I want to make sure you're okay? Trouble in paradise with Mr. Malfoy?" he smiled, only slightly teasing. He was genuinely concerned for her safety and had witnessed the entire argument between the couple.

Rose sighed, not meeting his eyes. "Just something McGonagall said to me earlier. I let it get to me; dunno why, she doesn't know what she's talking about." She shrugged defensively, refusing to show her emotions.

Knowing her stubborn nature, Neville knew better than to question her about something she didn't want to discuss. "Secondly, you know not to call me Neville at Hogwarts," he chastised, but not angrily; Neville never got angry. "And it's _Professor _McGonagall." He emphasised.

Rose nodded absently, her mind still on Scorpius. "Yeah, I just panicked. I got so stressed about that thing with Scor, and then White fell off the Tower." It all came flooding back to her suddenly, though it had only been resting at the back of her mind. "Is she going to be alright by the way? Is that what McGonagall is talking about out there?" she rolled her eyes at his expression, "sorry, _Professor_ McGonagall."

He hesitated, glancing at her hopeful face. It killed him inside to do this to her, while she was having problems with her relationship and N.E.W.T's where approaching so fast. The last thing she needed was something to distract her, but there was nothing he could do. She had to know; no matter how difficult it was. "Rose, this isn't easy for me to say, and it won't be any easier for you to hear. Your father should have told you, years ago he should have. You're too old to be finding this out, it's not fair. And now there's no time left." He shook his head in disappointment.

Rose could feel her blood boiling in her veins. Why did it not surprise her that she was more directly involved in this? Of course her father had done something horribly wrong that had resulted in this. She could remember vaguely the terrifying stage their family had gone through shortly after Hugo had been born. Ron had been overloaded with work and drunk a heck of a lot more than he should have. She was forever indebted to her Uncle Harry for snapping him out of it before he got addicted and violent.

She shuddered at the memory. It hadn't been a pleasant time in the least. But it had been over for almost fifteen years now. Every family had a slightly dark history; she'd always considered herself lucky in comparison to Scorpius – he'd gotten it as bad as he could have. There seemed to be more history in her branch of Weasleys than she knew about.

"Tell me, Longbottom." She glared furiously, fighting the burning sensation in her eyes as her brain quickly jumped to the worst conclusions. "Tell me what he did. You know I'll ask him myself and it sure as hell won't be a pretty conversation so I'd just get it over with." Her voice broke on the last words and she cursed herself for not making Scorpius come with her. She needed him now.

Neville let out a long breath, preparing himself for her wrath; he'd easily prefer that to tears; tears he just couldn't cope with. "Arabella White. She's… they moved her to St. Mungo's'. Her internal injuries were not repairable at Hogwarts." Rose's eyes widened at this; there was nothing the new matron couldn't do. Lavender had worked at the school ever since Scorpius brought her back from his _Dad's_ house. She'd been better than the old matron by far. Arabella had to be in the worst state to get transferred.

"Why did _you_ have to tell me that?" Her words came out harsher than she meant them to; she apologized quietly as she swallowed her impatience.

"Like I said, he should have told you and your mother. What he did is not defendable, but there is no way he can take it back." Neville took another deep breath. "Shortly after your mother discovered her pregnancy with you-"

"He cheated." Rose breathed; everything slotting into place. It should have felt better to finally be in the light, but it felt more like fingernails being scratched down the blackboard – disgusting. She shuddered; he'd been her father all these years. She would have trusted him with everything; her life, her future family, even Scorpius' life. Now though she felt as thought she'd swallowed hundreds of cockroach clusters and then had her stomach slit open to retrieve them.

Rose sank to the floor, not caring about the cold stone beneath her. "Find him." She whispered to Neville, knowing she didn't need to specify which 'him' she meant. Neville hovered for a few moments longer, hating the idea of leaving her here alone but knowing he had no other option. It didn't surprise him that Scorpius was the only person she could bare to see right now. At least he had a vague idea of what she was going through – Neville had never been betrayed by his parents, he was still able to look up to them and feel proud of them, no matter how long they'd been dead.

Rose crumpled, feeling the world cave in on her, leaving her to her thoughts. It should have been peaceful; it was anything but. She'd hated Arabella White for seven years, to her father's total knowledge. Now his bastard daughter was dying, and he didn't care. Of course he didn't care; he'd never cared. Neville, Uncle Harry, Uncle George, everyone had been a better father to her and Hugo than their biological one.

He'd impregnated two women within three months, abandoned one of them to return to the other. But if that wasn't enough, just three years later he got her pregnant again; at the same time drinking away his miseries. He was the worst father she could have asked for, and yet she'd looked up to him so much over the years. She remembered when she'd been talking to him in the Room of Requirement, just before she'd kissed Scorpius for the first time.

FLASHBACK~

"_Rosie, don't go finding a boyfriend too young. I don't care who it is. Wait until you're of age. I won't hear of any relationships before you graduate at the very least. Promise me, Rose." He glared into her eyes; she'd never seen him look more serious than he did now. _

"_I promise, Dad." She rolled her eyes at his unrealistic request. If she found the right guy, she wasn't going to let him go because 'daddy said so'. That wasn't her._

"_And promise me you'll spend less time with that Malfoy boy. I know you trust him, Rosie, but I don't," he straightened up from her height, huffing at her stubbornness. "Don't look at me like that, cauldron cake, I think he's bad news." _

_She snorted at his pathetic attempt at fatherly behaviour. "Cauldron cake?!" she raised her eyebrows at him but he only shrugged. "No Dad, I won't promise that. I have to go, Scor is waiting for me."_

"_What so you're at his beck and call now? Rosie, you're better than that. And don't call him that; it makes me sick." He turned slightly green and shuddered at her name for her best friend. Rose glared at him, fire igniting in her eyes. He was disgusting and childish. It shocked her that those were terms she often found herself describing Scorpius with, though in a more affectionate way._

END OF FLASHBACK

She'd left him there without looking back. It was just one of those common father-daughter spats that they'd sorted out soon after, but now she realized that even then he'd been less than supportive of her choices in friends and always seemed to compare her to her mother when it came to grades. And looks. He'd never said she was ugly, he was too proud of her, but he was clearly disappointed that she wasn't the same as her mother.

But he was proud of her; it was probably one of the reasons he hated her friendship with Scorpius who had been dubbed the 'bad influence' countless times. It was doubtful that he'd ever really gotten over her romantic relationship with him. Rose held her legs to her chest, resting her head back against the trophy cabinet. She never cried, never. Not three years ago when Daniel Morris had attacked her. Not when she'd heard the story of Scorpius' childhood, although that was probably more for his sake than her own.

Scorpius. He was who she needed so desperately right now. Yet she'd most likely angered him so much that Neville wouldn't be able to drag him here. But she could hope. The tears flowed freely now, and she did nothing to stop them. She felt betrayed more than anything else, and there was a part of her heart that felt empty. It should have been filled with her half sister, but she had never had the chance to know her properly, all because their father was a coward. Suddenly the anger was joined by guilt. It wasn't as though she could possibly have known; Arabella looked nothing like her or her father. Except she was tall, and had inherited his eyes; only now was she able to see this.

Everyone would say it wasn't her fault, but she felt responsible, and that was hardly surprising. When anyone was in such a situation, all they can ever think about is how to get back at the person who hurt them, and also how they could have changed what happened so they didn't get hurt. Rose was no different, and she allowed the sobs to continue with relentless pace, barely allowing her to breathe.

Strong, warm arms encased her, though she'd never heard the door open. Scorpius felt her fragile body relax into his protective, comforting embrace. He knew better than to speak. What she needed now was someone to be there, just the presence was enough. She didn't need to talk yet, but it would help eventually.

Seeing her cry was more painful than when his father disowned him. However well he'd hid it that had killed part of him. Scorpius had grown up believing that his parents would always be there for him, even if it didn't seem like it. When he needed them, they'd be there. It had been a fairytale fantasy; nothing ever turned out the way it should. Now Rose had gone through a similar thing, though even worse because she couldn't have possibly seen it coming.

'That's what you're supposed to think though isn't it?' Scorpius thought drily to himself. It's testing you; if you blame yourself you fail. He'd stopped blaming himself for his abandonment when he'd hit his father, but Rose was closer to her father and it would take a lot for her to forgive him.

Rose's sobs slowly subsided, and she curled into Scorpius' chest, exhausted. He could barely imagine what she must be feeling; he'd never experienced anything like it. In one fell swoop she'd lost respect for her father and the chance to know her half sister, who may very well not survive. The worst part was that no one yet knew why Arabella had fallen. While in the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall had confirmed that was that no one else was there, meaning it could have been an attempted suicide.

Rose shuddered slightly, and Scorpius gazed at her sleeping form. It would have been easier to use magic, but he preferred to carry her back to Ravenclaw tower. Rather than attempting to get into the Girl's Dormitory, Scorpius rested her gently on his own bed, propping himself up next to her to be there if she woke up.

Thoughts swam through his mind. He'd never really liked Ron Weasley, but hadn't thought him capable of this. He and Mrs. Weasley seemed like the perfect couple, excluding the sickeningly besotted Lysander and Amelia. Scorpius was saddened by it; Rose wouldn't forgive her father, not easily, and it was such a waste. He wasn't defending Ron's actions, far from it, but they had been so close. Now that was ruined. Hugo would be just as furious, and it would be difficult to convince Rose to go home which would have a huge affect on Hermione.

Scorpius watched his beautiful girlfriend sleep soundly, vowing silently to stand by her if her family fell apart.

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**A/N: I know it seems kind of weird that Neville is Rose's godfather rather than Harry, but I will get to that in the next chapter. Please, please, please press the review button! Constructive criticism and suggestions are accepted as always.**


	21. Stranger

**A/N: Hey y'all I'm back already! I know, how quick was I? Notice: new character introduction, let me know what you think of him. **

**I would love reviews for this chapter; the story might be taking on a plot line you're not keen on or whatever, so just let me know! Would like to say RIP Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan; he was an incredible drummer, and will be missed. 28 is too young to die. **

**Also, if you have read Maximum Ride, we must save Fang!! Rant is over.  
**

**Dedicated to MaskOfDeath who offered very helpful reviews. Thanks again and please review.  
**

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Rose woke from a deep sleep, already knowing she had overslept from the light that flooded the unfamiliar dormitory. There were three beds, so it was definitely a seventh year dorm. She shuffled into a partially vertical position in order to get a better view of the room. The sapphire draping on the four poster bed indicated that she was indeed still in Ravenclaw Tower, and she assumed it was Scorpius' bed she had slept on. It smelled like him, which was a comfort.

What didn't offer any comfort was that the room was entirely empty. Rose sat up, allowing the covers to fall off her, revealing one of Scorpius' black t-shirts with the name of a muggle band she'd never heard of printed on it. She blushed, realizing that he must have changed her clothes for her while she slept. Her throat was sore and her stomach rumbled; she definitely needed to go to breakfast. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and was hit with the cool air on her legs. She frowned; she'd been wearing jeans last night.

But, of course, Scorpius was being the kind, helpful, caring boyfriend and had thoughtfully dressed her in a pair of his boxer shorts. Rose felt her face redden even further, imagining what the rest of the boys in his dorm must have thought when they saw her. "Damn, I feel like a whore." She muttered to herself.

Obviously she couldn't go down into the common room; she didn't know what time it was or anything and for all she knew Louis or Hugo would be down there, ready to send a letter to her parents as soon as they saw her. Her father would be livid if he got that letter. Thinking this gave Rose the strangest feeling that it might not be such a bad idea after all. She couldn't do anything as bad as what he did to her.

She looked frantically for her clothes in Scorpius' trunk which was crammed full of God knows what and under his bed. Either he'd hidden them really well or had continued with his helpfulness and put them in the laundry for her. However inconvenient it was, Rose couldn't help smiling; he'd always be there for her.

Rose rummaged through Scorpius' school bag – not that her clothes would be there, but she was desperate. She froze as she heard voices grow louder outside the door, and footsteps followed towards the dormitory. "Shit!" Rose whispered, glancing around, but knowing there was nowhere to hide that she wouldn't be found; that would be even more embarrassing.

"Just got to get something, mate, be there in a minute." The deep voice called behind him as he entered the room. Rose stood there awkwardly, hoping he'd just take what he needed and leave without seeing her. Somehow she highly doubted it. The boy was tall and lanky, with dark hair that was almost black and startling purple eyes. His skin was pale, but he was one of those people you just couldn't imagine tanned.

"Hey. It's Rose, right? I'm Rickie" He smiled at her as he crossed the room to his bed, fishing something out of the trunk that lay at the foot. Rose said nothing, just stood there; shouldn't he be pissed at her for being in the guys' room? "So," he turned back to her, a large book in his hands, not looking in the slightest bit fazed that she hadn't spoken to him, "who're 'Avenged Sevenfold', or what is 'Avenged Sevenfold'?"

Rose frowned, not getting where he was coming from. "What-?"

He grinned and gestured to her chest with his book, "the shirt."

Rose nodded in understanding, "uh, I dunno. A muggle band, I think. I guess Scor likes them." she shrugged; a band was a complete guess – could have been a cult or a random unknown spell for all she knew.

"Huh, sounds dark. You don't know what music you're boyfriend likes?" he asked, curiously. There was no maliciousness or spitefulness to his tone, just a slight edge of surprise. Rose wasn't shocked to hear this; they were the closest couple in the school – they'd been the closest before they even went out, most people were surprised that they didn't know everything about each other.

She laughed softly, "He likes too much music. They all seem to have really weird names, too. Merlin knows how he came across it all." She shook her head, remembering how her Grandpa Weasley had introduced Scorpius to muggle technology a couple of summers ago when they stayed at the Burrow. Now Scorpius had invested in a laptop and an iPod which 'played music and stuff' as she was constantly reminded whenever she asked. He had a whole library of music that he'd gathered from various sources and had apparently been getting a load of merchandise recently, hence the t-shirt.

The boy laughed too, "Yeah that sounds like our Scorp. He brought the music playing thing with him, and it's got speakers. Man do we get a treat every night." He faked a painful shudder.

"Oi, what's that about you insulting my musical taste?" Scorpius yelled as he came in with Lysander behind him. He was carrying a tray full of toast, eggs, bacon and pumpkin juice. "Seriously, mate, if I wasn't carrying all this you'd get what's coming." He warned jokingly, setting the tray down on his bed and punching his friend playfully in the arm before walking over to where Rose still stood with a welcoming smile on his face.

"Hey, beautiful," he laughed softly as she blushed from his words. He kissed her gently, wrapping his arms around her in a protective embrace, just as he had done the night before. "You know I like you in my clothes. Black suits you." His breath tickled her ear as he spoke, sending involuntary shivers down her spine and deepening her blush yet again. He chuckled letting her go, only holding onto one of her hands, playing with the ring he'd given her.

"Aww they're so cute!" Rickie's voice was alarmingly high pitched.

Lysander's eyes widened at him and he slapped Rickie round the back of his head, "dude, you don't say that! You're a guy; you tell 'em to get a room!"

"I'll say what I want!" Rickie threw back, punching Lysander in the arm.

"By all means, say what you want, free country I guess. But for the sake of all our sanity, Rick', don't sound like a freaking first year girl on helium!"

Scorpius sighed and led Rose past the arguing seventeen year olds, dodging Rickie's poorly aimed punches, and out onto the landing. "Sorry, they're always like that. They'll find something to argue about, even if it's about not arguing."

"So how come I never met Rickie?" Rose asked out of interest. He seemed like a nice guy, yet neither Scorpius nor Lysander had ever mentioned him. "He never hangs out with us." She stated, hoping for some kind of elaboration.

Scorpius buried his hands deep in his pockets, frowning at the floor. "Yeah. He's a transfer. Got in a couple days ago. Him and 'Sand clicked pretty fast; now they're like a married couple. Fight more than us!"

'_Nice subject change'_, Rose thought, '_and not even full sentences'._ He wasn't telling her everything, but he hadn't been lying, and if he was omitting information it was for a good reason. "You gonna tell me more?" she was treading carefully, not wanting to push it, but hoping to get an explanation as to why he was hiding something.

"Not really my business. I'm more worried about you," he looked at her now, catching her eyes with his genuine gray-blue orbs. "You _are_ my business." He waited as she fidgeted, not used to talking about her feelings. Her stomach rumbled again, giving her an escape. Scorpius grinned, "I'll be right back. Go wait for me in the common room." He kissed her gently and pushed open the door to his dormitory again where the other boys were still arguing.

Rose tiptoed down the stairs, hoping not to be seen until she could get some of her own clothes from her trunk.

"Have a late night, sis?" Hugo mocked from his game of wizard chess with Amelia who grinned knowingly up at her friend. Rose bit back an angry retort; she and Hugo couldn't be fighting now – they had to stay together over this. He obviously hadn't been told yet, though, and she wasn't sure she wanted to do it.

"I was staying with…" she trailed off not bothering to say what he already knew. She rolled her eyes; she should have had more faith in her brother. He liked Scorpius now, and wasn't going to risk his life by telling their father that Rose had spent the night with him _and_ two other boys. She ran to her dormitory without another word, ignoring Hugo's taunt of 'NICE BOXERS, ROSE!"

Rose dressed quickly, throwing on whatever was nearest to her. She'd give Scorpius his clothes back later; now wasn't the time for Hugo's teasing, she just wasn't in the mood. She stopped with her hand on the door knob; she had to tell him. It wasn't fair to keep this from Hugo, but his short temper could certainly be an issue. "Scor!" she whisper shouted. No response. "SCOR!" she yelled, throwing the door open and coming face to chest with the person for whom she was looking.

He raised an eyebrow at her as she stepped back slightly to look up at him. "You called?"

"Um, yes." She muttered, embarrassed for having shouted so loudly. "I need…I need to tell Hugo." She looked at him, wondering if he was planning on reacting, "um, about Dad." The last word came out venomously, perhaps more than she expected it to.

Scorpius' eyes softened considerably; he could tell how much this was going to affect her for a while. Nothing so drastic had occurred in her immediate family before, and it would be hard for her to decide how to cope with it. He knew he would stand by what he had promised himself last night; he would help her through it. "D'you want me to tell him? I get that you might not want to. I will, if you want, you don't need to worry." He raised a corner of his mouth, offering a small smile.

He was making such a huge effort to help her, it didn't seem fair. She wasn't used to being this dependent and weak. She was stronger than her mother; she hadn't broken down when her dad had been drinking. Hermione had turned to Neville; not wanting to risk Ron's relationship with his brothers, or parents or Harry. That's why he was her godfather, her mother had told her. They hadn't bothered before that time. But after Hugo was born, she was comforted by the idea of having a non family member to protect them, and she owed it to Neville.

But Rose had found someone else to depend on; she was confident that Scorpius would help her, just as she would if the situation was reversed. She had been there when he'd been disinherited, even though he hadn't wanted to talk about it. It just showed how strong their relationship was that she trusted him not to leave her. "No, no, I'll need to do it. I just need you to be there in case he loses it and tries to hex me." She was only half joking; neither of them would put it past Hugo to flip out and do something he'd regret.

He tilted his head towards the door, smiling in understanding. "Come on, let's go strap him to a chair before we break the news." It didn't sound like a bad idea to Rose. She suddenly remembered his clothes. "Keep them; they look good on you." He grinned widely at her burning cheeks as she glared at him as forcefully as she could through the embarrassment. She walked straight past him towards the door; he followed, taking her hand.

"Hugo, I need to talk to you." Rose called as she and Scorpius exited her room. Hugo was sitting in an armchair, grumpily folding away his chess set. Amelia danced victoriously towards Scorpius' dorm where Lysander and the mysterious Rickie still argued. Perfect, he was in a bad mood.

"What?" he spat furiously; he'd never been a good loser. Normally she would have shouted at him for his bad sportsmanship, but considering the circumstances, Rose let it slide.

"It's kind of complicated, and you won't like It." she struggled for a way to phrase what she was about to tell him so it wouldn't seem as bad as it was. Though there was a part of her that wanted to make it seem terrible, so she wouldn't be alone in hating their father. Hugo looked at her expectantly, Scorpius squeezed her hand; letting her know he was there. "Umm, it's about Dad. And Arabella." Her voice shook as she mentioned the dying sister she never got to know.

Hugo's brow furrowed as he tried to link the two together, but came up blank. He shook his head in confusion, "what about them?"

"He…years ago…she's – our – half – sister." Rose said quickly, trying not to keep the taste of her words lingering sickeningly on her tongue.

Hugo's jaw tightened, his pale face reddened, his eyes flashed with the traditional Weasley angry fire. "You mean he-?" He stopped, unable to continue what he was going to say. He looked as though he was going to be sick. Rose nodded slightly, her eyes closing as she leaned into Scorpius' arm for support. Hugo nodded stiffly, his teeth gritted solidly now. He grabbed his school bag from beside his chair and stormed out of the common room slinging it over his back and almost knocking a small second year off his feet.

Rose winced as the portrait slammed behind him, and was comforted by Scorpius' hand gently stroking her arm as she watched her brother leave. "I suppose it could have been worse." She sighed; it hadn't been a good start to the day. Her stomach rumbled again, and Scorpius led her to where he'd set the breakfast he'd brought her on a coffee table by the fire. She frowned as she assessed the tray; "Where did you get all this?" she could have sworn half of this stuff was never available at breakfast.

Scorpius shrugged modestly, a small smile settling on his lips. "Pretty tight with the kitchen staff." Of course. No more questions asked.

Rose had a piece of toast half way to her mouth when the door to Scorpius' dormitory flew open again and Rickie came down the stairs two at a time, clearly in a rush. Lysander followed, trying desperately to keep up with the unusual boy. Amelia stood in the doorway behind them, Scorpius' headphones in her ears, her eyes wide with astonishment and alarm.

"'Sand what did you do?" Scorpius asked, holding both boys by the arm. He'd moved incredibly fast; one moment opposite Rose and the next trying to stop Rickie from escaping.

"It was really stupid; totally my fault. We were fighting and-"

"Shock horror"

Lysander glared at his friend. "I said 'bite me', not because I meant it, obviously. I wasn't thinking, I mean it's just something you say." He babbled, clearly apologetic, but Rose was still entirely in the dark; she had no idea why that would be such an insult; it was hardly offensive. However, it seemed to mean a lot more to Scorpius.

"YOU DON'T SAY IT TO _RICKIE_ YOU BLITHERING IDIOT!" Scorpius' hissed, surprisingly quietly considering the body language that indicated he would prefer to have shouted. He let go of Rickie to face Lysander full on and Rickie took the opportunity to make his exit. "You better hope he doesn't do something stupid. What were you _thinking?"_

"Didn't I _just_ say I didn't mean it like that? I forgot, okay! It's not like that's hard to do!" Lysander hissed back, glancing around the common room, hoping no one had heard the rant. Rose had had enough of standing there completely ignorant of the situation.

"Scor, what's going on?" She stood between Scorpius and Lysander so he couldn't ignore her. She poked him in the chest when he tried to look away. "No, Scorpius. You're not going anywhere until you tell me." She demanded, folding her arms and refusing to break eye contact.

Scorpius sighed and leaned in towards her, making sure no one but Lysander could hear him. He whispered so quietly that Rose barely caught what he said, but there was no denying the words that came out of his mouth. "Rickie's part vampire."

This day just got better and better.

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**A/N: So there you have it: Rickie's secret is revealed. I swear this isn't going to turn into a Twilight crossover. Harry Potter vamps are different :) Review please!!**

**Provehito in Altum  
**


	22. Passing

**A/N: Hello again, back for another chapter. Would like to thank jasmineflower27 for her constructive criticism regarding the last chapter. I dm'd her, but if anyone else thought it didn't make much sense I will be more than happy to forward that response. Hopefully this will be clearer! I swear this is the last of the depressing stuff, it will go back to the less painful sort of thing soon. Please remember to review!!  
**

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"A vampire" Rose repeated softly. Fabulous. This was just what Hogwarts had been missing: a seemingly normal boy with above average looks who would undoubtedly attract the attention of many girls in the school. But it would have been incomplete without his desire to drink their blood. Wonderful.

"It's not like you think," Scorpius insisted earnestly, "think about it; would McGonagall have let him in if he was dangerous? He's fine, babe, totally harmless."

Rose glared up at him; did he think he could fool her that easily? "Then why would he 'do something stupid'?" she questioned, with the appropriate air quotes.

"He's a little prone to overreaction sometimes." Lysander winced as the portrait hole swung open and Rickie jumped through, swinging the portrait shut behind him. The three in the room stood still, trying to make out any emotion from his expressionless face.

"Hey guys. You changed, Rose." He nodded at her as he took Scorpius' recently vacated arm chair and picked up a quill from the coffee table. He started making alterations to the textbook he was carrying. Rose sat back down opposite him, toast in hand, looking at him curiously. He felt her eyes on him and glanced up to meet her with startling lime green irises. Hadn't they been purple before?

"Are you gonna eat that?" he asked, ignoring her penetrating gaze and pointing to the bacon on her tray. Rose blinked and shook her head quickly, not really having registered what he was asking for. She frowned as she watched him eat the bacon happily. Vampires _ate?_ "You look like you never saw a part-vampire eat before." He observed, smiling innocently. He had a subtle Welsh accent that only seemed to appear on certain words.

"Which part?"

His eyes turned a fiery orange, "what, you just didn't tell her anything? Why do you want to go scaring the crap out of her for no reason? Dude, you let your girlfriend think I want to eat her!" Rickie looked at Scorpius incredulously.

Scorpius just smirked, "I was going to tell her, but you showed up and took her breakfast. I guess you might as well tell her now. You know more than me."

Rickie closed his book and took another rasher of bacon, looking at Rose again with sunny yellow orbs. "So basically I'm your traditional vampire. Y'know; I got the wacky rainbow eyes, white skin, pretty tall. Only difference between me and the normal ones is that I'm not big on the blood thing." His nose wrinkled, eyes turning neon pink at the thought.

Rose's confusion was written all over her face, "so wait, you're a _vampire_ but you don't drink blood?"

"Nah can't stand the stuff. Tried it once to see if I was normal, but man it is _vile_." He shuddered.

Rose was fascinated, "do you get older? I read vampires didn't. Are you nocturnal; do you ever sleep? Do you have a pet bat?"

Rickie chuckled as she fell over her questions. "Yes, I sleep, but I'm not a night owl. Ironically enough, I used to be scared shitless of the dark. And yes, I do get older; the vamp bit me when I was seven and I've grown up just fine. I still don't know what happened, but the bite reacted with something in my body – yes, I'm allergic to vampires – and I got the image, the erratic behaviour and my soul mate picked out, but I don't have to deal with the urge to rip out strangers' throats. All in all I don't think I got it too badly."

Rose was shocked by how easily he was able to talk about how his life had been changed so drastically from one moment. It was almost as though he'd weighed up the pros and cons and then written a speech to recite every time it was brought up. "Your soul mate was chosen?" This upset her the most; even if it didn't bother Rickie. No one should have love handed to them.

"Yup."

"Hang on a minute mate; you never told us that!" Lysander exclaimed, evidently horrified by this revelation.

Rickie shrugged, "It's no big deal; you don't see me any differently now do you?" Both Lysander and Scorpius' heads shook in synchronisation with the other. "Doesn't matter then, does it? Anyway, yes, she has already been selected. Haven't met the poor girl yet, but I guess I'll just know." He drifted off, gazing thoughtfully out of the window, scarlet eyes glazing over.

Rose just watched him silently. It seemed like something that shouldn't be interrupted, though there was no sign of concentration or intense focus. She felt as though catching his attention now would be intrusive. Apparently Lysander didn't share her thoughts. He leaned forward and shook the pensive vampire's shoulder gently, dragging him from his dream like state. "Hey, man, you left us for a minute there I think. Welcome back." He joked to his friend, ignoring Rose's glare.

"Rose," Rickie beckoned for her attention, which she immediately granted; almost as though he'd gained a supernatural hold over her. "You need to find your brother; he's on the verge of doing something he'll regret." His watery blue eyes had glazed and unfocused again, the trance drowning him again as he looked at Rose. "Change his mind. Stop him." He insisted, the blue pools fading to a spine tingling black, so his pupils entirely disappeared.

Rose nodded and stood up without argument. She was shaking slightly as she walked quickly to the portrait hole, Scorpius following close behind. He slid the portrait closed silently before turning to his dazed girlfriend. "So, that was Rickie. Rose, are you alright? You seem slightly traumatized." He frowned at her non responsive form receiving yet another flashback to when he'd scared her the day they'd first met all those years ago. "He won't hurt you, you know," Scorpius did his best to assure her but her expression was so uninformative that he had no way of telling what was bothering her.

He stepped closer so as to catch her if she fell, "Rose I don't want to scare you, but it would be best to go find Hugo now. Trust me when I say that Rickie's warning wasn't empty; he told you Hugo would do something he would regret and I can promise you that wasn't a lie. I mean, the state Hugo left the common room in, it wouldn't surprise you if he planned on doing something really stupid would it?" he rambled, having absolutely no idea whether she was listening or even if she was capable of it.

Suddenly she broke out of it, shaking her head in swift, sharp movements. "Yes, yes we have to find Hugo." Her voice was forceful and adamant, which completely contradicted her image. "I'm fine, Scor! Honestly, I'm okay. It's just that Rickie's story caught me off guard. It wasn't like anything I'd ever come across before. That's such a control over his life; I mean she's already been chosen for him."

"Hey, it's fine. He's cool with it; seriously, Rose you don't need to worry about him; you need to worry about finding Hugo before he does something we wouldn't do, and that's saying a lot." He took her hand and began to walk her in the direction of the staircase.

They got about three feet before she stopped again. "We don't have to look far. There he is." She pointed to the tall figure who had just exited a classroom after Professor McGonagall. "What is she doing here?" Rose mumbled to herself, guessing it couldn't be good news. She braced herself for whatever would be thrown at her as the headmistress approached with her brother.

"Miss Weasley," Professor McGonagall hesitated slightly, eyeing Scorpius, "Am I right in thinking that you would not like to have this conversation alone?" Rose nodded, but said nothing, just expected her to continue. "Very well, I was on my way to see you, when I came across Mr. Weasley here. It was a good thing I did, because I sincerely believe that his actions had I not appeared at that moment would have been far from honourable. Nevertheless I explained the situation to him in its entirety as I was under the impression that you left much to the imagination when you relayed the information.

"I knew it was only right to keep you fully informed on Arabella White's recovery, particularly since you were not allowed to visit her in the Hospital Wing." She paused; breathing a deep but shaky breath. "Therefore it is my responsibility to tell you now that she has most tragically passed on from this life." Her eyes were softer than ever before.

"Rose," Scorpius whispered, at a total loss for words of any comfort. Once again he was left helpless as she had to go through such an ordeal that he'd never experienced. In the years that he'd known her, he'd always been a little jealous of her being able to have the support of a huge family that he would never have for himself. It had been easier for her to have so many people around her age for her to talk to while he'd had none of that. Despite wishing he had this though, he couldn't wish less for her. He was glad she had such an incredible family.

But it seemed to have its down sides. In having next to no family he could rely on, Scorpius had grown used to them being a disappointment. This meaning that when he was disowned by his father, it didn't hurt nearly as badly than if Ron was to disown Rose. He didn't expect anymore from his father. Even worse, Scorpius had never lost a member of his family that had always been there, yet he'd never known them. It's almost worse, is it not, to lose a relative that you could have known than to lose one who you knew had lived a full happy life, and you'd been able to be with them during their happiest moments.

Rose had never been able to know Arabella properly; she'd seen her as an annoyance that got in the way and someone to make fun of. Ironically, it was much like sisters often think of one another, even though they'd never had the chance to be sisters.

"Your father has been sent an owl, Rose." Scorpius was shocked, not by the information but by the headmistress addressing Rose by her first name. She never called _anyone_ by their first name.

Rose laughed completely humourlessly, "Some father he was to her. Didn't even visit her, did he? I bet he never even bothered to find out her name. I wonder if he ever saw her mother again after that one night. She went through her pregnancy and birth alone, brought up Arabella alone. Yes Professor, he sounds like a brilliant father to me."

The Headmistress showed no reaction to these remarks, though would have normally scolded heavily for not knowing the full situation. It was not the time for that; scolding the mourners results in anger and violence. Hugo took his sister's hand gently and pulled her into a hug, which she surprisingly accepted. Scorpius turned to the Headmistress whose grave expression was yet to abandon her face. "Professor… she wasn't- I mean it didn't hurt her… she was peaceful?"

"Madame Brown was extremely attentive and made Miss White feel entirely comfortable, she was comatose, and there was a forty per cent chance of survival, but her internal injuries could not be cured in time. She felt none of her injuries, only drowsiness. I must leave, now, Mr. Malfoy. There are many arrangements to be made. Promise me that you will look after Miss Weasley."

Scorpius nodded numbly. He looked back to Rose who was being held by both Hugo and Lysander who beckoned him over as the swishing of robes announced Professor McGonagall's departure.

Lysander took him to the side and uttered in whispers "She needs you to look after her, mate. We already asked the girls, they don't mind camping in the common room tonight. We'll cover for you in class; she's not up to that today. Don't worry about it, Rickie and I are in almost all of your classes, just take care of her today. Hugo will manage I think, he doesn't seem to be taking her death quite as hard. We'll bring you lunch and supper if she's not up to it-"

"Wait, how do you know all this? First off how did you know about Arabella? McGonagall just told us!" he hissed, eyes narrowing at the idea of his friend eavesdropping on the conversation – perhaps slightly hypocritical but that aside.

Lysander shrugged, "Rickie."

"How did _Rickie_ know? He wasn't even here when Arabella fell!" Scorpius whisper – shouted incredulously.

"Rickie knows _everything._" Lysander replied with an ominous tone in his voice.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, "what he's psychic now too?"

"Something like that. Go take care of your girl, Scor. We've got you both covered today."

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**A/N: So yes, it was slightly shorter than the last chapter, but it has quite a lot in it. I dipped in and out of it so if something is confusing please review and let me know!! Will update as soon as I can!! **

**Provehito in Altum  
**


	23. Routine

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long, and also sorry for this being a bit of a filler chapter. I promise I will update sooner now that mocks are all out of the way! Please review! x**

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Scorpius had been prepared for another breakdown of tears and despair, but Rose seemed to pull herself together and put up a convincing front particularly well. He was concerned that she showed little to no sadness or anger after she'd recovered from receiving the information. He knew better than to ask though; if she was choosing to react this way, there was nothing he could do about it, just be there for her. His immediate thought was that she couldn't get angry because so far there was no one to blame.

He'd sat with her in her dormitory for the whole day, and they'd just talked comfortably about everything. They mentioned nothing of great importance, especially side stepping the situation with her father, they spent most of the time recounting their successful and failed pranks over the years. For the first time in the past few days she looked happy; not scared, cautious or hurt, but genuinely happy with the simplicity and ease of the time they passed together.

Lysander or Rickie visited regularly to bring homework and notes made in class that they were ninety eight per cent sure wouldn't be used. They smuggled food out of the Great Hall and snuck back into Ravenclaw to provide updates on the general buzz around the school regarding the recent events. Both Scorpius and Rose were impressed by their cunning and sneaky behaviour – it wasn't like Lysander to bend the rules, and Rickie surely wanted to stay in the professors' good books so soon after his arrival. Rose asked Scorpius why Rickie had left his previous school so late in the term, but Scorpius just told her he didn't know and swiftly changed the subject. Evidently he hadn't done anything good.

And when they didn't talk the silence was comfortable. The subject of the most recent events were avoided Rose, and Scorpius knew that she'd bring it up if she chose to. Shortly after Lysander left them with some jacket potatoes and pumpkin juice for lunch, Rose brightened up suddenly. "Scor?" She caught his attention, innocently, "Since we still have about six hours until the girls get back, I can think of something we could do." She gave a small smirk, raising a suggestive eyebrow.

Scorpius shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, not wanting to meet her eyes. "Are you sure? I mean, these last few days have been hell for you, Rose, don't you want to wait a little longer before going back to the routine. Not," he added hastily on seeing her dissatisfied expression "that I would object at any other time."

Rose cast her eyes skywards again, before resigning to shifting her features into an uncharacteristic pout. "Please? Please, Scor? It's been ages."

Scorpius sighed, knowing that by looking in her eyes he wouldn't be able to put it off any longer. "Fine," he huffed, angry at his weakness. "Go and get some parchment, I'll get a quill." He gestured loosely to the desk in defeat.

Rose grinned; score one for her. She leaned over to kiss him briefly as she slipped off the edge of the bed, trying to leave the sheets in a reasonable array behind her. She darted to her chest on the other side of the room to retrieve her school bag, equipped with everything they'd need. She was wearing another one of Scorpius' t-shirts; emblazoned with the name or motto of a different thing he seemed to have an interest in. She'd already forgotten what the last one said; it was so obscure. She thought she should really pay more attention to his preferences and hobbies and whatnot, however abnormal they may be.

She plopped back down on the bed with a remarkable lack of grace, managing to bounce Scorpius out of his seat slightly, even though he was a good deal heavier. "So," she announced her voice a combination of sudden breathlessness and excitement. It had been a while since they'd plotted a really good, disruptive and inconvenient prank. She missed the old days more than she'd realized, and was momentarily upset that everything had changed so much. Some things changed for the worst, but some for the better; like her relationship with Scorpius. It was difficult to know whether ignorance was better, ironically enough.

"So," Scorpius repeated, gazing pensively out of the thin stone window nearest to him, his brow furrowed in thought. "What are we thinking of this time. I would suggest we give the transfiguring teachers another shot, but the last attempt wasn't much of a success." He avoided meeting Rose's eyes as the memory was brought back.

She resisted glaring, since that would get them nowhere, "hmm, perhaps not? Unless we tried a different approach…" she tailed off, another memory swimming to the surface. This was fuzzier; it had been so long ago, before she had even met Scorpius. That felt like a different life.

_~Flashback~_

"_Mum, what's Polyjuice potion?" Hugo asked, his face an image of pure innocence. Ronald Weasley choked into his spaghetti on the other side of the table, his ears reddening to reveal his embarrassment. It was a warm summer's evening, the sun not set yet. The Weasley-Granger family sat over an everyday meal in the kitchen. At least, it had been an everyday meal before Hugo had asked that question._

_Rose looked to her mother, who seemed to be slightly shocked at this. "Hugo, dear," she said, flustered. "Where did you hear of such a thing? Was James telling you stories again? I told you not to listen to that cousin of yours, honestly the things he comes up with." She shook her head in despair. _

"_But he didn't make it up, Mum." Rose frowned, and put her thoughts into the exchange, "I saw it in one of the books in your study once. It was a potions book. I was going to read more, but I heard Dad coming so I-" she broke off, but already knew she'd been caught. Hermione chose to ignore it._

"_Oh, well maybe you're right, Rosie. I can't say I've ever used it, or even know how to. There are many spells and potions that your father and I have ever even heard of. I wouldn't worry yourself over it, Hugo."_

"_Rose is starting at Hogwarts in September, Hermione," Ron shrugged, "We might as well tell them. You know, widen their knowledge a bit. Not teach them how to _use_ it, or anything. What harm could it do?" Hermione just glared at_ _her husband; if only looks could kill. _

"_I just don't think it's wise, Ronald." They spoke in hushed whispers now, and Rose found herself leaning forward to catch everything they were saying. "Who knows what kind of trouble they could get into with that potion?"_

_Ron rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Harry told you about the Chamber of Secrets, didn't he Rosie?" He proceeded to ignore his wife's angry remarks, and continued talking to his children. "Well he had a good idea of who had opened it, so your mother used the Polyjuice Potion to help us prove it. What it does is when you drink it with something from the person you want to turn into in it, you can turn into them. It only works with people, though, as your mum found out when she used a cat hair by mistake." He grinned at Hermione's reproachful expression._

"_Dad?" Hugo said thoughtfully, "who did Uncle Harry think opened the Chamber?" Hermione's eyes widened and she shook her head sharply at Ron._

"_Oh, well, it was Malfoy. The slimy Slytherin git –"_

"_RONALD!"_

"_- that really hated us at Hogwarts because Harry didn't like him and he was a pure blood snob. It wasn't actually him, as it goes, but we wouldn't have known that if it weren't for that potion." He leaned back in his chair, balancing it on the back two legs. He was evidently satisfied at having conveyed this important information to his children, whereas his wife of eleven years was clearly not._

_Hermione flicked her wand absently, forcing her husband's chair back onto all four feet with potential to induce whiplash before turning to Rose and Hugo. "But it was a long time ago, and Draco has seen the error of his ways. Rose, his son is also starting at Hogwarts, I believe, and I will hear nothing of you being prejudiced against him, like your father will be." _

_~END FLASHBACK~_

It should have hurt to think of her father, but it was better. Somehow, she felt more comfortable remembering him when everything was simple and easy, and there was nothing to stop her from loving him. Back when he was the world's best dad who could do no wrong, she felt invincible, because he was. Obviously, that was all different, and that was what had hurt her the most; he was a different kind of father now.

"What different approach?" Scorpius dragged her back to the present, out of her epiphany with his question. She must have been spaced for around five minutes because his expression of confusion was combined with panic.

Rose grinned, banishing all thoughts of her father from her mind, focussing solely on the task at hand. "Polyjuice Potion."

-------------------------------------------------------------One of those line things which annoy the hell out of people but indicate a change of scene type thing---------------------------------------------------------------------

Rickie knocked softly on the heavy oak door separating him from the Headmistress's study. "You asked to see me Professor?" He'd been assured by both Rose and Scorpius that Professor McGonagall was relatively harmless, but they seemed to know her pretty well. It was more intimidating for someone who had never heard of her until just a week ago, and since she was well known throughout the school as terrifying, he was nervous to say the least.

"Enter, please, Mr. Dayton." Came the sharp tone from the other side. Rickie turned the doorknob carefully; he didn't possess superhuman strength, but sometimes it caught him off guard. It swung open easily and he stepped inside, suddenly absorbed by the array of magical objects decorating the room. "Have a seat, Mr. Dayton." The woman behind the desk gestured with a fine, slender hand to a chair. Rickie sat down.

"First of all, welcome to Hogwarts. I hope your time with us will be pleasant if somewhat short lived," she smiled unexpectedly. "There really is no need to look so apprehensive, Mr. Dayton. I have been informed of your rather unique situation, and I guarantee we will do our best to make life easier for you while you are here. Is there anything in particular that you would like to discuss about your condition?" She smiled, not unkindly, and pierced his midnight eyes with her sharp green ones.

"Actually, Professor there isn't much to my 'condition' as you euphemistically put it."

Professor McGonagall's eyes narrowed ever so slightly; only three days, just three days and already this remarkable boy had been influenced far too heavily by Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy. "I see. So what vampire qualities do you possess, Mr. Dayton?"

"Well, my eyes are funny." He stated the obvious first, "and that's about it. I sleep like a baby, and food is like oxygen, so I think I'll survive." He shrugged. He chose to omit his uncanny but temperamental ability to predict the actions of other people. He wasn't about to turn himself into some psycho experiment.

The Headmistress' eyes narrowed further. They'd had far too heavy an influence. "So not much of a vampire, then. No blood?"

"Nope. I was just telling Rose this. It's really horrible stuff. Taste likes intestines." He made an unattractive gagging sound instinctively. Needless to say Professor McGonagall was less shocked than she should have been by such behaviour. Having been sorted into Ravenclaw – which really wasn't what it used to be now – he'd automatically been exposed to the antics of her two regular visitors to her office, and therefore this kind of back chat was only to be expected.

"I see," she repeated, her fatigue undoubtedly showing on her face. "Well then, Mr. Dayton, I think you can return to class. You are getting on well with the boys in your dormitory I trust?" she dreaded the answer, but had to ask. There was always the possibility that he and Scorpius had taken an instant disliking to one another, which would have helped her case.

Rickie grinned, "Yes. Sand is great, and Scorp is cool too, even if his music choice is slightly off centre." He hesitated, wondering whether it was safe to ask. "Professor, do _you _know what an 'avenged sevenfold' is?"

"I couldn't say I do, Mr. Dayton." He nodded, a frown embedded on his face, as he swung the door shut behind him. There was something distinctly odd about that one.

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**A/N: So that was chapter 23. As I said it was a bit of a filler, but please let me know what you thought. 134reviews, guys this is amazing!! As always, suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated! Thanks x**

**Provehito in Altum x**


	24. Grumpy

**A/N: UGH, it's been too long again! I've had so much to concentrate on, and I apologise profusely not only for putting this off, but also for it being such an average chapter. I will try and improve for next time, and also to update sooner rather than later this time. I won't make any promises I can't keep, so I promise that this story is not being abandoned, but the updates may be infrequent I'm afraid. Anyhoo, please review! I'm not entirely sure where I'm taking this, so if there's anything you want to see, or just want it to end, let me know! x  
**

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Breakfast was the usual affair for Rose, Scorpius and Lysander and now Rickie was the new addition. His assurances about his eating habits were not doubted as they sat awe, watching him eat through piles of food at an alarming rate.

Scorpius' jaw fell open in horror as his half-eaten toast was suddenly snatched from the plate in front of him. Rose stifled a grin at the shock on his face as they both watched Rickie inhale plate full after plate full of breakfast. Lysander, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by the new boy's apparent starvation. He went about eating his own breakfast as normal, except for his slightly shielding arm which lashed out to hit the interfering hand whenever it ventured too close.

"So, Rose. I found out what an 'avenged sevenfold' is. Rickie said conversationally, eyes still glued to his third mushroom omelette, which he stared at for a moment before shovelling it into his mouth. The mouth in question seemed to be of reasonable proportions but when the large omelette went in, Rose suddenly wasn't so sure.

She shook her head in disappointment. "You eat like my father." She surprised Scorpius with this offhand comment, but he noted how she said 'you _eat_ like' rather than 'you _are_ like' which would have had a very different meaning in light of recent events. Rickie just smirked and wolfed down yet another rasher of bacon.

"Maybe," he considered, "But I'm cooler." He said confidently. Rose thought about this for a minute, watching him as his eyes blended from neon orange to pale pink. Eventually she nodded, consenting; she couldn't really deny it. His smirk grew and he leaned back in his chair, popping his twelfth mint humbug – always a confusing addition to the table – into his mouth. "I knew it; it's the eyes that convince people."

Rose rolled her own and turned back to her sausages. They weren't there. She turned to glare at Scorpius. "How come _you_ didn't know he ate like a hippogriff?"

Scorpius shrugged, concentrating on protecting his new hash browns to replace the stolen ones. "I hadn't eaten with him yet. I've been with you since he got here; we only met because we share a dorm. Now I _know_ McGonagall hates me." He muttered. There was no other good reason for the sleeping arrangement, their being in the same house and year set aside.

"Yeah, I did seem to get that vibe. You said she was harmless, so I pushed her a little, just to see how far she'd let it go before she blew up in my face. She seemed fine, then I mentioned you guys and she burnt holes in me – figuratively speaking. How dare you corrupt me?" he mocked.

Rose was fully prepared to snap back at him, but the sudden clattering distracted them. They looked instinctively up to the long table as a furious Professor McGonagall stormed up to the elegant podium flanked by Professor McGonagall and another Professor McGonagall. In fact the whole table was made up of duplicates of the headmistress they knew so well, all having taken on the facial expression of fury, confusion or just disorientation.

"Surprise!" Scorpius whispered low in Rose's ear, his breath tickling the back of her neck, and she suppressed a shudder so as not to give him the satisfaction. Yet she still felt him grin and chuckle softly behind her.

"Good one," Rickie murmured his approval, contrasting Lysander's groan of exasperation nicely.

"Scorpius Malfoy! Rose Weasley! I command you both to see me in my office immediately! Now! No excuses!" the Professor McGonagall barked into the unusually silent hall.

Nobody moved, until "Sorry, Professor, but do they really have to see _all_ of you? Isn't that a tad tedious and complicated?" Amelia piped up from the Gryffindor table, her face a mask of confusion that made Rose incredibly proud of her best friend. "I mean," She continued, "how do we know you aren't imposters that will try to kill them?" she looked scared and anxious, "only one of you can be our real headmistress."

"Yeah, she's right," came a pensive voice a little closer. Rickie looked up at the set of Professor McGonagalls. "One of you is Prof. McGonagall. You've abducted the rest of the staff and are going to kill Hogwarts' favourite couple because you're all jealous of their love for one another!" He was looking ridiculously scandalised as he stood up from the bench ferociously; only Rose, Scorpius and Lysander were close enough to see the mischief dancing in his violet eyes to tell them he wasn't actually taking it seriously at all.

Others began to join the cacophony and no one seemed to have noticed that the whole thing was merely an extravagant rouse. Similarly, it had evidently occurred to nobody that every teacher had been present only moments ago. Or they had noticed but opted for an 'Emperor's New Clothes' approach, and said nothing to avoid appearing ignorant. Everyone seemed so prepared to fight for their school that it was almost comical.

Eventually, it all died down as Rickie took it all a step further to stand atop the Ravenclaw House table, and he was now going to no trouble of hiding that this was the most fun he'd had in a very long time. "I think the only realistic way to find out who the real McGonagall is would be telling her to show herself in her Animagus form."

Lysander dropped his head into his hands, propping his elbows up on the table and trying desperately not to listen to Rickie's anarchical rallying of the crowd who seemed to just go with it. Rose and Scorpius looked on in bewilderment, though bordering on amusement, and were concerning themselves mostly with flicking their gazes between each McGonagall. It was clear that the real one looked substantially angrier than the rest. It was indicated by the bulging vein in her forehead pulsing dangerously.

Rose slumped in her chair, leaning back against Scorpius' chest. "This is going to go on forever." She gestured limply to Rickie who remained on the table, having the time of his life. "Can we just leave?"

"Don't see why not." He shrugged, slipping his fingers through hers and hoisting her up subtly from the table. They snuck out of the Hall just as cheers erupted at the sight of a resigned McGonagall shrinking to cat form, but still maintaining a murderous glare at Rickie. This settled a very satisfied expression on Rickie's face. He appeared to be out for trouble already, having been here less than a week.

Maybe it was normal for vampires, or maybe he just wanted to experience a detention before he left Hogwarts; he would definitely achieve that several times over. Either way, McGonagall glared at him with such intensity that even as a cat it was clear that she despised his actions almost as much as she despised Rose and Scorpius.

The room was very empty and silent safe for the shifting of the stair cases. It was a startling contrast to the deafening excitement in the other room. Sometimes Rose wondered if the rooms of Hogwarts were sound proof; the door wasn't that thick. She frowned, something just occurring to her, "Scor, where did you get the Polyjuice from? It takes _months_ to brew it perfectly. You didn't try it by yourself did you?"

He smiled secretively, "I have friends in high places. Well, low places technically but you understand," his mysterious smile fell from his lips and became an image of impeccable sincerity. "Did you know that every girl would kill to look like you, if the legal obstacles were set aside?"

Rose rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop a light blush rising to her cheeks. "Is that your attempt at a chat up line?"

He stepped closer to her, leaving only a foot between them. He stood over her slightly, about a head difference in their height, which had always gotten on Rose's nerves. "No, it's just the truth that may be slightly exaggerated."

Rose felt her eyes roll back into her head as her eyelids slipped down and she relished in his closeness, and the comforting sound of his voice. When his lips touched hers, it was exactly like the first time they'd kissed; everything just evaporated from her mind. His arms enveloped her in a warm hold, his fingers tugging gently on the ends of her curling hair. Her own arms had slid around his neck of their own accord and she had no desire to end this; oxygen was completely overrated. It was good to know that nothing had changed between them.

Lysander departed the Great Hall shortly after his friends had left, slipping out of the side door. He was unnoticed by the rioting crowd assembled behind him. Rickie still encouraged the raucous, his chances of making it out of there alive decreasing greatly with every word.

He shut the door silently and turned to go up the stairs. He rocked back on his heels so as not to walk straight into two of his best friends locked in a passionate embrace in the middle of the corridor. He opened his mouth to make a sarcastic and/or provocative comment, but decided against it considering the possible consequences of his words. They both had reputations for their unpredictable behaviour and regarding their current… situation, they could lash out at any moment.

Lysander chose the safer option; carefully sidestepping the couple who remained entirely oblivious to his presence. He wasn't overly surprised, if he was honest with himself. It wasn't the first time he'd walked in on a similar predicament, and it most certainly wouldn't be the last. While they didn't flaunt their relationship as such, they certainly didn't make a secret of it. Their affection was more public than his and Amelia's, for it was quite possible that there were people in the school who didn't know they were together; Scorpius and Rose couldn't really be ignored in the same way thanks to their self built reputation. Although, Lysander didn't exactly see it as being ignored, more being left alone; in fact, he preferred it that way.

It was several hours before they returned to the common room. Lysander decided to remain ignorant as to where they'd been. He wrote a letter to his parents, not hastening to mention that he hadn't written since the second week of term. After sending it, his curious nature got the better of him, and he found himself scrolling through Scorpius' iPod selection. It was a remarkably confusing piece of technology; on one occasion he applied slightly too much pressure and a heavy drum beat blasted into his ears, though there didn't seem to be any speakers attached no matter where he looked. Unable to find a volume control, he opted for poking it incessantly until it stopped.

After that ordeal, he vowed never to touch muggle contraptions voluntarily again; it shouldn't be too hard to keep to. The only person so dedicated to such expertise was Grandpa Weasley, and since only Scorpius had ever shown any interest, Arthur had monopolized his attention, making it easier for Lysander to avoid being drawn into the workings of plugs and the like. In all honesty, he was probably technophobic, but was not about to admit it to Scorpius who would mock him mercilessly for it.

Speak of the devil, Lysander thought as the blond fell into the room, staggering to keep his footing. Lysander raised his eyebrows at him. "Graceful." Scorpius only glared at him, dragging Rose in by her wrist behind him. She'd pushed him.

"Rose, perhaps your violent tendencies could be kept to a minimum in company? You could just take it out on a chair or a door or a wall for that matter, but I highly doubt Scorpius appreciates being shoved into his own room." Lysander smiled at her innocently, watching as she giggled uncharacteristically and Scorpius' glare gained murder potential.

"I didn't push him, he tripped over his foot." Scorpius snatched up his iPod from behind Lysander's chair, and stormed out. The remaining occupants of the room listened to him stomp down the stairs to the common room and Rickie's greeting.

"Hey mate, how's your foot?" he called loudly. Rose smirked to herself, picturing the scene in her head, though there was more smoke coming out of her boyfriend's ears than in reality. They both waited to hear the groan of pain from Rickie when Scorpius' fist met his face. He seemed to be in the mood to lose his temper over petty words at the moment. But nothing came, Rose strained her ears, but they seemed to be talking too quietly for her to hear them, or they'd left silently.

Eventually, she got frustrated and impatient. Rose threw open the door and descended to the common room with Lysander on her heels. She was met with an image she had not expected. Both boys sat with their eyes shut, white wires leading up to their ears. If she listened closely enough she could recognise the pounding to as music. They were swaying absently and comically to the beat, and Rose stifled a laugh at how unbelievably ridiculous they looked. "Get me Scor's camera!" she hissed to Lysander through her teeth. He was faster and quieter than her, and he would know where it was.

After several clicks, flashes and video recordings, the novelty had worn off and she slipped the metal rectangle into her robes, tiptoeing over to Scorpius and settling heavily on his lap, earning a string of obscenities and his arms wrapping warmly around her waist. She could definitely use those photos as blackmail in the future…

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**A/N: Yes, so as I said, it's a poor chapter. I'm really sorry about that, but I will try and do better. Maybe an update this time next week?! Please do review, though. Those of you who write know exactly how helpful they are! Thanks for reading x**

**Provehito in Altum x  
**


	25. Funeral

**A/N: I remember promising that it would be about a week last time. Clearly this was not true, as over a month later here I am producing the next chapter. I intend to rectify the situation by not promising another chapter, but hopefully suprising you all by updating quicker than before! I am really sorry for neglecting it, but school is out for the holidays now, so with any luck I can put more time and effort into this. I hope this chapter is at least satisfactory, but please review with ideas and criticisms, they help a lot. Please don't give up on me just yet! I am still here and living, for now! x  
**

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Rose stood outside the Ravenclaw boys' dormitory, her hand raised in a fist ready to knock. She'd studiously ignored the situation with her father over the past few weeks, hoping that in doing so it would never have to be confronted. No one else had mentioned it either; she had made it clear by not breaching the subject that she was not inclined to discuss it and this was respected by the rest of the group.

But now it could not be avoided any longer. With Arabella's funeral fast approaching, she knew she would have to attend or regret it. There was something compelling her to go, like there was something she would have to do there. Now she had to prepare herself. There was a tight knot in her stomach, making it difficult to swallow comfortably.

She had finally accepted that she would have to talk about it and there was only one person with whom she felt secure enough to do so. And he was behind this dark oak door. He was alone, she knew, so there was really nothing to stop her tapping, nothing for her to be afraid of. Lysander and Rickie were playing wizard chess in the common room, and had promised her that Scorpius hadn't left the dormitory since breakfast.

She hesitated further; what was stopping her? For some ridiculous reason she felt scared and nervous – two emotions she rarely experienced, particularly around Scorpius. She looked down at her toes, curling them absently on the hard wooden floor.

"What's wrong with you? What are you doing?" she whispered accusingly to herself. She wasn't afraid of talking to Scorpius; that was completely absurd. "Pull yourself together, Rose." She hissed, unclenching her right fist, wringing her wrists, breathing deeply. She exhaled, and raised her fist again banging sharply on the thick wood.

The door jerked and jolted as the handle turned on the other side. It swung open to reveal Scorpius clad in the same muggle attire he'd been wearing at breakfast. He smiled down at her, and Rose couldn't remember what she'd been afraid of. She mentally slapped herself for becoming such a pansy and walked past him into the room. "Can I talk to you?"

"'Course. I think I can guess what about." he took a seat on the bottom of his mattress, gesturing for her to join him.

She nodded, swinging her legs up to cross under her. "I know I've tried to carry on like nothing happened and part of me – a relatively large part – still wants to. Thing is, the more logical part knows that at some point I'm going to have to see my father. I'll have to go home, even if I don't stay. I can't ignore him forever; he's still my dad, however differently I see him now." Rose glared at the sheets in frustration. "It just makes me so angry that he never told me or my mum. I think it's more that than what he actually did. I idolised him when I was younger, I respected him more than anybody and Hugo was the same. He could do no wrong. That was part of the shock, I suppose; that he wasn't faultless."

"Rose, everybody's flawed, everybody makes mistakes. I'm not defending his actions, but in fairness he was unlucky-" Scorpius opened his mouth to continue, but Rose cut him off.

"What's that? A justification?" she glared, daring him to go further.

He rolled his eyes, "of course not. If you'll let me finish?" he waited for her nod of approval. "I just meant that he didn't have a full blown relationship with this woman. That's not to say that he should have slept with her, but that the one time he slipped, he was unlucky enough to have consequences. I met your dad; he's not the kind of guy to have regular flings, I can tell. He and your mum are pretty good together. Trust me I've seen a failed marriage. You get what I'm trying to say?"

"I think so. Are you saying I should try talking to him? I hate fighting with him, no matter what he did. It's hard to stay angry with someone who's been such a good parent. To _me_, at least." She sighed; the conversation between her and Ron would be somewhat more strenuous than this one had been. "Scor, will you come to the funeral? The closest I've been to a funeral is the Great War memorial service, and I didn't even know Arabella."

"Sure" he replied simply, unable to refuse her anything even if he had any desire to. "But promise you'll talk to him when you see him. You've always been a daddy's girl at heart Rose, you know that. He certainly won't be ready to give up his daughter yet."

* * *

The service was quiet and subdued, attended only by her nearest family and a few friends. Rose and Scorpius felt suitably out of place as they stood a fair distance away from the mourners, paying their dues without feeling intrusive. They turned to leave as it came to a close; they would not appear at the wake, hardly having known the deceased.

Rose was stopped in her path as she caught sight of a familiar tall red headed man whom she had most certainly not expected to see. His eyes met hers, and he turned to slowly walk towards them. She felt her stomach twist tightly back into the uncomfortable knot that had been hidden beneath the surface. Rose hesitated; the pain and betrayal she'd tried to suppress came screaming back at her. Her eyes flickered across his face as he approached them. The warm, caring eyes gazed back at her as she took in his gently smiling lips and crinkled laugh lines at the corners of his eyes, and the faint trace of freckles spattered across his nose.

He stopped a few feet away, as if testing the water. "Rosie, can I please have a moment." His voice was tight and strained, as though he was suffering from a sore throat.

Everything about him was still there, he was still her father, only now there was a ghost of the deceit and mystery character he'd assumed all those years ago. She felt as though she was looking through him, but it was confusing, and she just couldn't understand him. He was the dad she'd loved all her life, but he wasn't perfect anymore.

"You need to talk to him," the comforting whisper tickled her ears as Scorpius' voice was carried on the wind. When she didn't move he played his next card, causing her to glare internally at him, "you promised."

She weighed her options silently and came to the conclusion that she'd have to talk to her father eventually, and it seemed as good a time as any. She preferred now to a huge family gathering at any rate. She nodded minutely, she noticed him let out a shaky breath and it occurred to her how difficult he was finding this as well. It wouldn't have been easy to bring up the stupid mistakes he'd made so long ago, especially with a daughter who'd shown such an intense admiration. There was no doubt that their relationship would be quite different now.

Scorpius smiled his encouragement as he turned to give them a private place to talk. Rose's stilted body language indicated that she was not in the mood to be placated by Butterbeer or any similar conversation beverage.

"Rosie, I'm so sorry for doing this to you. There is no way I can redeem myself for keeping that from you; it was unbelievably condescending to think you were too young to know about your… sister." He choked slightly on the last word, still struggling to comprehend the loss of one daughter.

"Condescending – big word." The sound was shaky, it didn't even sound like her own voice. "Dad, when Neville told me, I- I honestly didn't think I'd ever be able to see you again. I was shocked and hurt, but I could never work out why. It's awful to say it, but it's not as though _I _was the one who was affected by what you- by what happened. I wasn't even _born_ yet, how could it possibly hurt me?" Rose felt the underlying hint of hysteria threatening to emerge, and closed her mouth to control herself by taking a few deep breaths. "I just hate that I got to grow up with both parents. She didn't have that, and it's like I took it away from her."

"No, Rose, you didn't. Not even close. Y'know, there've been three things I've regretted more than anything in my life. First; was the time I abandoned your mum and Uncle Harry in the woods on our hunt for horcruxes – but you know that story, at least the important stuff. But the second was that one night. That night I will never forgive myself for, because I let her down again. After I deserted them both the first time, I swore to myself that I would never do it again." He paused, looking down at his daughter with silently pleading eyes. "I won't insult your intelligence by telling you I didn't know what I was doing. I suppose I did, I just had no idea why. At the time it didn't even occur to me that it was something I would look back on as the worst moment of my life.

"I was a coward, Rosie. I couldn't even tell your mother what I had done. I only told Harry, and he was sufficiently furious for the both of them." He looked at the ground, his feet scuffing the dirt like a small, ashamed child. "I didn't know I had another little girl until about four years on. By that time, we had you and Hugo as toddlers, running about, causing havoc. I wasn't going to leave you all; I couldn't bear hurting my family again. And that brings me to the third regret – I managed to do that anyway, and I didn't even know her. Rosie, I'm not prepared to reminisce in my old age about the two daughters I lost. One is bad enough; I can't let you go too. Maybe, if at some point you can forgive me, I'll be at home."

Rose stood still as her head reeled with the information. It amazed her that she was being as calm as she was. Having imagined this moment, she'd seen it several different ways: freakish shouting and screaming, broken cries and weeping or angry, snide comments. And yet now, she couldn't see herself behaving that way after seeing this side to her father. She swallowed, unable to speak as she watched him walk away. As she played his words over and over in her mind, she somehow found it easier to understand what he had been trying to tell her, and maybe she would be able to forgive him, someday. She felt soft, damp tears roll slowly down her cheeks, and watched her hands swipe mindlessly to rid her face of the falling water – what was crying going to do?

Scorpius' face came into a blurry view, and she blinked to dispel the threatening tears. His arms enveloped her, and she felt his tight grasp on her own arms as the ground disappeared momentarily beneath her. Her eyes reopened as the spinning of apparition stopped, and suddenly she could smell the comforting aroma of Butterbeer and Honeydukes merchandise. Scorpius steered her into the Three Broomsticks, where they were welcomed by the raucous crowd of a Hogsmeade evening. Rose collapsed into a booth, instantly exhausted despite having moved very little today.

Scorpius slid into the couch opposite her, and passed a large mug of Butterbeer across the table to her. She drank some, revelling in the feeling of warmth running through her veins. It was a relaxing sensation that always seemed to help relieve stress. "Did you, uh, manage to talk it through at all? Y'know, with your dad?" Scorpius looked reluctant to ask, uncomfortable with the idea of persuading her to open up. Rose was grateful to him for his constant support; how was she the one exhausted?

Rose looked thoughtfully into the amber liquid in front of her and considered his question carefully. "Yes. I think, eventually, it might all be…resolved. I know now, after hearing him speak today, I know that I will someday be able to forgive him."

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**A/N: Reviews? Please? **

**Provehito in Altum x  
**


	26. Resolved

**A/N: Hello! I know, it's surprising that I'm back so soon, right? I was surprised too, but I basically have no desire to study, so this is what I've been doing. I want to thank everyone who reviewed, let me tell you, if you don't write on this site it's such a great boost to know people are reading your stuff and if you do write, then you already know that. So anyhow, please keep it up?! Hope you enjoy this new instalment. Oh and thanks to 'wishing on a shooting star' who helpfully pointed out my Britishisms. I apologize for these, and if I do start rambling about unintelligible crap, please feel free to tell me. That will be all :) x  
**

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Were it not for the natural atmosphere of the Three Broomsticks, the seventh year Ravenclaws would have had a pleasantly silent evening. But as the sun set and the night drifted in, the bar grew rowdier. It was after several suggestive glances Rose had received from a few drunken goblins that Scorpius decided enough was enough. He dragged her through the door by the hand and out into the open fresh air of Hogsmeade village.

It was cold for a spring evening and dark after the brightly lit pub. Scorpius wrapped his cloak tighter around himself, and watched Rose do the same "You ready to go home?"

Rose nodded, "Sort of."

He frowned at her, squinting to see her face in the darkness "sort of?"

Rose smiled, taking his hand. "Let's go."

She imagined her destination, concentrating on keeping hold of Scorpius so as not to lose him on the way or get preoccupied by the sickening spinning. Scorpius staggered when they hit the ground, not having expected the sudden transport. Having finally orientated himself he looked up at the house they'd landed outside of. Even in the dark it was recognisable as the place he'd lived in for so many of the holiday periods during his time at Hogwarts.

"So, you meant _this_ home then." He looked over at her, still not having given up her hand – it felt so comfortable in his own. "That's good. I've missed your mum; seems like ages since we were last here. Shall we, then?" He gestured towards the house, where the living room light was still on meaning that at least one parent was still awake. It was most likely to be her father, who had become increasingly entranced over the years with the muggle technology of television that Hermione's father had introduced him to as a welcome to the family of Granger.

The door was unlocked, so they were able to push it open soundlessly. Rose stepped silently into the living room where, as expected, her father sat gazing at the flickering light of the television. He looked up as he heard her close the door behind her, and the confusion in his eyes alerted her to the fact that Scorpius was no longer standing behind her.

"He went back to school then?" Ron asked gruffly, trying to avoid meeting her eyes. His courage from that morning had apparently been built up over time and had almost gone completely. Now it seemed he was going to shy away from the subject if at all possible.

"No he was here. I guess he stayed outside."

Ron sighed, falling back onto the couch. "He'll have been dragged into the kitchen by your mother. She's grasping at anything at the moment; she's so worried about you." He looked up at the ceiling, "I know it's my fault."

"Dad I haven't been ignoring her intentionally. I just wanted to give you both some time to fix whatever you had to and I needed to take some time out of Weasley life myself." Rose scanned her eyes around the room, at all the moving pictures of her seemingly infinite family members. She paused on the grinning face of her Uncle Percy, whose eyes shone out at her from behind the horn rimmed glasses.

She'd heard Percy's story, and knew she didn't want that for herself. The last thing she wanted was to separate herself from the Weasleys, particularly knowing how lucky she was to have such a family – unlike Scorpius. But she knew she was like her uncle in a way; they'd both struggled to work out where they belonged. Now Rose decided she didn't care; that was irrelevant. She just knew how much she enjoyed being part of them, however difficult it may be at times, and she definitely didn't want the same regrets as Percy.

* * *

"She hasn't replied to my owls in weeks, Scorpius. I don't normally worry about Rose; she's so clever and an excellent judge of character, I'm never concerned that she's in danger, even if not all of her actions are entirely good choices." Hermione looked pointedly up at the boy who stood a good head and shoulders above her slight frame. "But since that poor girl's accident, Merlin, I've been beside myself. It came to the point when I couldn't keep waiting for a letter, so two days ago, I wrote to Minerva. She very kindly informed me that neither of you have attended lessons for several days.

"Now really Scorpius, you know I consider you a part of this family, I have done ever since you first moved in, but honestly, what on earth possessed the pair of you to abandon your studies with your NEWTs just around the corner?"

Scorpius shuffled his feet awkwardly; almost eighteen years of age, and he was still reduced to the age of five under the glare of Hermione Weasley. Rose had often teased him mercilessly for it, but she was rarely in a better state when her mother was angry with her. "We weren't going out of our way to miss classes, Mrs Weasley," He mumbled uncharacteristically, "it's been a tough time for Rose recently; I haven't wanted to push her in any direction."

"I am always grateful for your protective care over my daughter and I can only imagine how hard it will have been for her, but for Rose the best way for her to face her troubles is to distract her. I was informed of the Polyjuice incident and while it was a stupid thing to do – and potentially dangerous – it was impressive. Not going to happen again though, right?"

"No, Mrs Weasley."

"And it is still Hermione to you. Now, reprimanding aside, how have _you_ coped? While I appreciate the attention you pay Rose, this must surely have been an unpleasant time for you as well? Forgive me, but didn't your parents suffer a similar, if more serious, ordeal?" her voice had softened now that she had finished telling him off, and Hermione sat at the kitchen table, flicking her wand minutely to enable tea and milk to pour simultaneously into large mugs.

Scorpius stared at her, "'More serious'? If anything their problems were less serious; it's not like they loved each other. My parents married for blood purity and wealth. Neither was faithful, it was like an unspoken agreement. They only stayed together because of what my grandparents would have thought. Then my mum finally got fed up of it all and went to live in Norway and date a muggle called Sigvald."

"A muggle called Sigvald." Hermione repeated slowly, highly doubting the likelihood of Astoria Greengrass courting a muggle – even if they were happy and in love, the fact that she'd stayed with Draco Malfoy for so many years told her that the girl just wasn't strong enough to stand up to her parents.

"Yeah, I know, it's weird. Apparently he has three pet dragons and a Pygmy Puff which he named Alfdis after my mother because it means spirit. Sickening, isn't it." he observed drily, "But it's not my place to comment. Rather she's happy with him than suicidal with my father." He shrugged.

Hermione frowned, recognising something about the information he was giving her. "What kind of dragons did you say they were?"

"Uh, she didn't say in her letter. Norwegian ones, I suppose."

"And this muggle man – sorry, Sigvald – he knows how to train dragons? Norwegian ones?"

"Well I hope so. My mother certainly doesn't!" Scorpius laughed to himself at the image of Astoria running around in front of a dragon in one of her expensive gowns.

Hermione tried to hide her surprise, she remembered Hagrid's pet Norwegian Ridgeback all too clearly and the last thing Scorpius needed was to hear that his mother and her partner had been burned to cinders by a rampaging out of control dragon. She hoped Astoria knew what she was doing, or it could all end in disaster.

"Mrs Weasley," Scorpius restarted, after a few pensive minutes. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but how come you aren't freaking out?"

"It's all water under the bridge now." She stated confidently, no waver in her voice and no uncertainty on her face.

Scorpius stared at her again with incredulity, "water under the- what you're not even slightly, remotely fuming that he did that to you? Surely you of all people should be furious; nobody has more of a right to be than you."

Hermione regarded him with the same expression, "Scorpius, how old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Exactly, and the event we are speaking of happened before you were born. I was married to Ron for four years before I told him I was pregnant, and I'd known him for twelve years before we married. I knew he was going to react uniquely to the news, but I also knew that he'd come around to it eventually. Think of it like the relationship you and Rose have – what was Ron's reaction when he first found out you were together?"

"He tried to hex me and Hugo pushed me out of a window."

"But now he's grown to… well not appreciate it, but put up with it. I knew the same thing would happen back then. Ok, so I wasn't exactly expecting him to do what he did do, but in his defence I did nothing to stop him leaving, because I knew he would come back. I'm a clever woman, Scorpius, though I'm not one to blow my own trumpet," Scorpius looked slightly puzzled by the reference to brass instruments, so she corrected herself "I'm not one to brag. But that doesn't mean I don't make mistakes."

Scorpius considered this while he drank his tea, which was questionable, as always. Ron Weasley was the better cook in this particular Weasley household, but telling Hermione would not be anyone's wisest move. He swallowed quickly to dispel the unfortunate taste, "So you just forgave him? Just like that?"

Hermione smiled the overly kind smile that Rose had inherited so directly, "oh I wouldn't say that. He'll pay slowly in ways he cannot even imagine." Scorpius noticed a glint of what could be seen as bloodlust in her eyes; an emotion he'd become all too familiar with when encountering Rose's cousins the first few times of meeting them.

At that moment, the kitchen door swung open revealing the man of the house followed by his only daughter. Ronald Weasley looked like the Chudley Cannons had been promoted to the Premiership Quidditch League for eternity and he was allowed to live in Honeydukes. Scorpius grinned, reciprocating the look on his girlfriend's face which told him how happy she was to have her family back. With any luck, drama would leave her alone from now on, but somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice was telling Scorpius that his wish would never be granted. Drama loved Rose almost as much as he did.

They left half an hour later, with Ron in the hands of his perhaps slightly too happy wife. Scorpius had a sick feeling that Hermione was already plotting her vengeance on the unsuspecting, elated Ron. They arrived back in the common after cleverly dodging a dangerously bored Peeves on the staircase. There was still life in the blue and bronze room, and Rose was quick to notice Lysander and Rickie locked in an intense round of Exploding Snap in the corner.

The pair watched carefully before intervening as Lysander jumped a foot in the air with the cards; much to his opponent's delight. "Hey, we missed you guys!" Lysander exclaimed with a little too much enthusiasm, partially out of genuine pleasure in seeing them, but partially to cover up his helium pitched squeal he'd made moments before, Rose suspected.

Rose met Rickie's friendly, crimson eyes, "Forgive him, then?"

She blinked in surprise, "How- forget it; I don't want to know. Yes, I did. Anyway, what have we missed here?" her subject change was unsubtle, but they seemed to get point.

"It's all water under the bridge now, but you two are back, so things can finally get interesting again." Rickie's was a tone of excitement as he disregarded Scorpius' widened eyes of astonishment.

* * *

"Seriously Rose, I thought he was just a little weird, but that was downright creepy- Rose, don't _laugh_!"

Rose did her very best to conceal her temptation to giggle at his nervous face. "Sorry," she waited until he had evidently accepted her apology, "but he _scares_ you? _Really_?"

"He's a mind reader!"

"He's intuitive."

"He knew her exact words!"

"It's not an uncommon phrase, Scor. You're over thinking, come on, relax." Rose propped herself up on one elbow as Scorpius lay beside her on his bed staring at the ceiling. She rested her hand on his shoulder gently in a hope of calming him for a while, if at least to get him to sleep.

He sighed heavily, "Yeah, you're right." He smiled at her, just as the door opened, and in stepped Lysander with a slightly disgusted look on his face at the sight of his best friends and a muffled sentence combining the words 'damned' and 'married'.

"Well, I'd better go," Rose leaned in to give him a swift kiss on his mouth before swinging her legs down to the floor. "Night night, sleep tight," she grinned, and then whispered in his ear "don't let Rickie bite."

She heard his angry intake of breath and she darted towards the door, closing it softly behind her, just in time to hear his response of: "So _not_ funny, Rose." But that aside, he was happy; it had been weeks since he'd seen Rose with such a genuine smile on her face. A weight had been lifted, and she was able to enjoy the stress of exams without that other cloud hanging above her head.

His talk with Hermione had really enlightened him about how relationships should work since his parents had been a bit of a joke together. With Rose it had helped that they were so close before; it was part of the reason he'd never paid girls any attention because he'd never have known how to treat them. His relationship with Rose was as perfect as anything could be in his opinion, and her happiness now meant that they could have a bit more fun when the graduation ceremony rolled around.

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**A/N: Well, did you like? Please review with whatever. Monosyllables work, or essays, whatever you're in the mood for. I for one, am going to go watch Mulan because I am a loser. Bye for now :)**

**Provehito in Altum x **

**(sorry 'wishing on a shooting star' I did it again. Also sorry for the liney things. I can't help it; it's an addiction!)  
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	27. Graduate

**A/N: And here be my new chapter. It's a bit later than originally anticipated but that's because it's long :) Admittedly not an awful lot happens but I swear it will be more interesting next time. Unfortunately that will be at least a week from now because I am off on holiday. I promise if there is wifi I shall update but I doubt it. I will definitely write the chapter but will have to type it up! I hope you like this, and I think I can say that it was pretty much unanimous that we take it beyond Hogwarts, and therefore it shall. However, it will not go on forever! It is also unlikely that a further random OOC twist will be thrown in such as unfaithful fathers and whatnot. This does not mean that it's going to be predictable! Anyhow, enough rambling. Please review?! You know I love it when you review! I will try and reply to every one I get. **

**Thanks, I'm done now, if you actually read it! Enjoy x  
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Over the next few weeks, the Ravenclaw common room did not rest. Books piled up on every table. OWL students would start disappearing when practicing Charms and people began levitating themselves due to a considerable lack of seating space on the floor.

On several occasions, Rose and Scorpius returned from the library in the early hours of the morning to find Lysander and Amelia fallen sound asleep on a sofa, surrounded by half finished parchment, various potion ingredients, maps of the stars and open books. Every self respecting Ravenclaw student studied restlessly for those last few weeks before the exams began. The portrait got so fed up o failed attempts to be pushed open and having things thrown at her that she changed the traditional riddle to the more suitable 'damn it, open' which always seemed to be a popular choice when frustrated students were trying to get through.

It was in this position that Rose found her boyfriend in a week before exams were due to start. "What do you mean it's not a riddle?! It's been a fucking riddle for the past whatever years!" Rose heard his furious words as she made her way up the staircase from a particularly rushed dinner.

"Young man, I do not appreciate such coarse language at my portrait. Please go and spread your infinite joy somewhere else." The woman replied haughtily.

"Are you just taking the- oh, great, what you're just going to_ sleep_ now?" Scorpius growled at the now motionless portrait before dropping his excessive pile of books and throwing a string of impressive expletives that would give Ron Weasley a run for his money.

"Scor?"

He spun around quickly, the cursing coming to a close for now. "Thank Merlin, I thought I was going to be stuck here forever!" he exaggerated "what's the password?" he asked desperately.

Rose frowned, enjoying this a little too much. Some may consider it cruel, but it was the way they worked with one another. "Password?" she repeated in mock confusion.

Scorpius' following growl was enough to have made Remus Lupin a very proud man, Rose thought. He turned back to the hidden door, "damn it!" he shouted, banging relentlessly on the frame, "why won't you freaking OPEN?!"

The portrait opened a bleary eye and looked down at him with sheer revulsion. "Close enough, I suppose, but only because I refuse to tolerate your whinging any longer. You can mark my words, young man, if I have any more of your foul mouthed tantrums out here; I will prevent you from ever entering again no matter what password you use." She swung open, ignoring Scorpius' potentially murderous glare, and waited impatiently for him to gather his books and stomp through.

"Wow, who dropped the telescope on you this time then?" was Lysander's greeting from the window sill by the fire, where he sat with his legs against the small set back wall opposite him, as he sat on the ledge with a colossal book resting on his knees.

The angry blond dropped his belongings forcefully onto the coffee table. "I'm just stressing about NEWTS – don't look at me like that – I _do_ care about my grades, but only when they matter." Scorpius replied indignantly.

"Mate, you're one of the less concerning cases I've seen walk through here recently. One kid was practically shredding his hair – totally losing it – but you don't have to panic so much; somehow you and Rose manage to get the best grades in the year despite a ditching habit and that general aura of 'sod it' you've both got going on. You're going to nail these, but you're pissing yourself over it because everyone else is." Lysander sounded half careless and half irritated that they could get away with anything – which was, in fact, a rarity – but they didn't get punished enough for his liking.

Scorpius collapsed ungracefully (yet plenty of drama made up for this) across one of the long couches. "I just wish it could be over!" he pouted angrily as Rose sat on his feet.

"It's only a few more weeks of studying and exams. Then a whole week of nothing and then we're out."

"Yeah, but then what? 'Sand has his thing to start in that place at the Ministry, Millie's off to be a Healer, and you're going to Gringotts for something goblin related-"

"Banking"

"Same thing, but what am I going to do? I haven't even thought about it at all. Rose, if I have to go work in Madam Malkin's you can have my iPod 'cause there is no way I'd last." He said sorrowfully, but gained no sympathy.

"Don't be so dramatic," Rose snapped, "You don't have to work at Madam Malkin's, I promise. But stop turning into Moaning Myrtle or I'll sick Hugo on you. We'll find you something, Scor; you're smart enough to do what you want."

"Why don't you look at something in the family?" Lysander suggested as he balanced a mini cauldron on his chest, reading the book in front of him intently – clearly only half listening. When there was no response, he met their incredulous faces and chose to rephrase, "I meant Weasleys - you're basically just a blond one. Surely there're enough professions amongst them for you to find some kind of internship, even if it's temporary. You could go to Romania and get fed to a dragon for example."

Scorpius ignored the last jab made at him, as his eyes widened in cartoonish realization. Rose was beginning to think the late nights and caffeine overdose were getting to him in a very weird way. "Rose, how many people work for your Granddad Weasley?"

"Scor, he retired ages ago. The departments he worked in have been moved around loads now; some of them won't even exist anymore."

"What about the muggle one? Where he used muggle stuff."

"The Department for Misuse of Muggle Artefacts? Really? Scor, my mum's a Healer, Dad and Uncle Harry are both Aurors, Uncle Bill could still find you something at Gringotts. My family do interesting stuff – occasionally. I'm sure 'Sand's mum could see if she could hire you at the Quibbler, if that's what you wanted. But Muggle Artefacts… well are you sure that's the sort of thing you're looking for?"

Scorpius frowned, reconsidering his options. His mind had jumped straight to Arthur Weasley because of the long conversations they'd had about technology and science during family gatherings. He'd always thought 'what could be boring about that?' then he'd spoken to Rose about how interesting he'd found it, and she'd suggested he just work in a muggle profession instead of trying to combine the two. And he saw what she meant; while Arthur had enjoyed his time in that Department, it had been him and one other, and Scorpius couldn't see that for himself. It would be quiet, dull and ultimately boring – he needed life and excitement.

"No, it's not. I have a better idea."

Rose braced herself, hoping dearly that he had not decided to take Lysander up on his suggestion of joining Charlie in Romania.

"I'm going to write to your Uncle."

"Right, okay, which uncle would that be?"

Scorpius reached for a longish stretch of parchment, rolling it out on the arm of the sofa since the tables were all occupied. He found a quill lying on the floor, a pot of ink behind a cushion and now he began to write. "Dear Mr. George Weasley…" he read aloud in answer to Rose's question.

Of course. She should have known this was the one he'd be interested in eventually. But she also knew that her uncle would be thrilled; his son Fred was a trouble maker, but had shown no interest in the shop's business over the years, and Roxanne was far too set on Quidditch to pay any attention to 'crappy gimmicks' as she'd so eloquently put it.

Scorpius, on the other hand, had fallen for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes from the moment he stepped in. Every time there was a visit to Hogsmeade they would end up going to the WWW branch there and Rose would have to drag him away from her uncle's latest invention.

While the possession of merchandise from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes had been legalised again at Hogwarts, the use of the infamous Skiving Snackboxes had remained strictly prohibited along with the love potions which had caused a distinct riot around Valentine's Day the year before Rose had started at Hogwarts. Her cousin James had written home in February to inform his parents that he was to wed a girl whom they had never heard of.

Rickie jumped through the portrait hole, "He'll take you on at the Diagon Alley branch; it's the busiest store during the summer months. You'll even get to wear that _dashing_ uniform." He mocked, grinning at his roommate. Scorpius just stared in total horror at him, his face growing even paler than usual. Rose was beginning to think he'd stopped breathing as his skin took on a slightly blue tinge, but he came to life as he jumped a satisfactory few feet in the air when there was a loud slam and Amelia fell into the room.

Lysander set his cauldron aside and crossed the room to help his girlfriend with the excessive luggage she'd somehow carried up to the Ravenclaw Tower. "Honestly, Mil' all this stuff is taller than you!" he grunted as he and Rickie struggled to find a place for all her library books. Amelia wiggled her fingers to restart blood circulation as she blew her hair out of her eyes, ignoring Lysander's words.

"How's the studying coming on then? You aren't even a Ravenclaw, Millie; I'm impressed at your dedication." Rose smirked at her friend, who of course was preparing herself for OWLs rather than NEWTs, seeing as there were two years between them.

Millie sank down into a cross legged position on the floor and tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling, "Ugh, it's the worst! I don't know how you guys lived through this; it is putting me through physical agony" she groaned showing them all her palms as exhibit A. "And what about you lot? You're exams are even more important than mine and you're all totally lax about it." she glowered grumpily.

Lysander smirked, kissing her temple as he picked her slight frame up to sit her on his lap on the windowsill. Rose laughed at her as she fought to keep the frown from leaving her face, but eventually gave in as Lysander started to tickle her.

"That's what you think?!" Rickie grinned, his eyes sunshine yellow "Lax isn't the term I would use; should have seen the state Blondie over here was in when he tried to get into the tower."

"Yeah" Millie tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, "it's a weird password isn't it? I still prefer this place to Gryffindor common room. It seems to be dominated by Weasleys – no offence Rose – which means that there's always some kind of family argument. Particularly with the Potters, actually; just the other day James and Albus had Lily cornered over her first boyfriend. Your Hugo took a backseat, but he didn't look to happy either."

"It's probably because of what happened when he confronted Scor. Almost death by window wasn't it?" Rose nudged his calf with her toe playfully. His mouth twitched, fighting a losing battle with a smile, and he swung her legs up to rest them under his half written letter to George Weasley.

Rickie chose not to hide his blatant disgust at the affection in the room. Lysander tossed some scrunched up parchment at him to stop the barfing noises. "Sorry, but it makes me sick to see all the loving gazes into one another's eyes. I mean, really? None of you have any self respect left; at least keep it private."

"Mate, self respect has nothing to do with it; the primary reason for making it so obvious is to spark a reaction such as that from you. Admit it, you're just jealous." Scorpius snorted, ignoring Rickie's unreasonable protesting. Rickie glared, but considered this and eventually came to the conclusion that it was late, and he had studied enough for today.

As he left for the dormitory, Scorpius let out a relieved sigh. Rose gave him a confused look, "He scares the crap out of me."

"Sorry buddy!" the gleeful voice from above them drained Scorpius' face of colour for the second time that hour.

* * *

Rose had been right about how fast the time would pass. Soon enough, the exams were drawing to a close and the tense silence that seemed to have a terrifying hold over the occupants of Ravenclaw common room. Despite his original determination to succeed in passing the work ahead of him, Scorpius had promptly given up, much to Lysander's fury. He'd never liked that Scorpius was able to get by on studying less than the rest of the school.

And now came the day that the four Ravenclaws would leave Hogwarts for good, unless, as Rickie had helpfully pointed out while looking meaningfully at Lysander, they would return at some point to teach there. For now, at least, their time at Hogwarts was coming to a close.

Naturally this meant a hysterical Amelia, to whom it had just become apparent that she would not be able to see Lysander every day. She had, therefore, controlled her erratic emotions into making Rose look 'perfect' for the graduation ceremony. Rose's opinions on this were yet to be considered as she scowled at the reflection in her mirror, Millie focussed intently on a decision between two blue shades of nail varnish.

"Really, Mil' is this necessary? It's just graduation – nothing special is going to happen is it?" Rose rolled her eyes at the ridiculous situation she'd somehow managed to get herself into. It wasn't even like Amelia to care about appearance; the only reason Rose had agreed to this was because the fifth year looked as though she might cry if she was not allowed to give her a makeover for graduation.

"Hmm, you say that, but Rickie looked suspiciously excited at breakfast. I have a feeling he's filled your shoes these past few months. Y'know, with the pranking you and Scor used to get up to. I guess he decided the school was too comfortable and thought he'd shake things up a bit." She shrugged, speculating the possibilities,

"I'm just saying, you think this is going to go by without anything interesting happening, but look at it this way: if you and Scorpius hadn't for some reason given up your practical jokes, would you have passed up this opportunity?" she grinned at the nervous look on Rose's face, "I think we should go with the navy; goes well with your hair."

* * *

"ROSIE! GOT A TEXT FROM GRANDPA WEASLEY! HE WANTS TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!" Scorpius yelled up the stairs of the girls dormitory. They were going to be late; Lysander paced the common room in a panicky silence and Rickie was nowhere to be seen. He'd disappeared soon after breakfast, and frankly Scorpius didn't want to know what he was doing; there was no doubt he would get in trouble for it. _Listen to me! I sound like 'Sand on a cranky day._ He shook his head as Rose's curls appeared around the corner.

"Grandpa has a phone?" she sounded both shocked and amused by this, clearly entertained that her grandfather was so up to date with modern technology that he was on regular communication with her boyfriend while the rest of the world still wrote letters.

"Finally, I thought we were going to have to gatecrash. Come on, or they won't let us in – you know Filch still has a grudge on us." He took her hand as Lysander made his way to the portrait hole. Amelia gripped his arm, having come out of nowhere in a pretty white summer dress. Lysander grinned lovingly at her, and Scorpius rolled his eyes impatiently. He tapped his foot as he waited for his friend to move before eventually getting fed up of waiting and shoving him through the hole in front of him.

"Scor we are going to _have_ to do something about your temper." Rose tutted at him, following Lysander through the portrait hole.

Out in the Quidditch pitch, which had been charmed into a more appropriate setting for a graduation ceremony, a large crowd had already gathered. Lysander grudgingly kissed Millie goodbye and the three made their way to the cluster of Hogwarts robes milling around near the platform that had been set up for the occasion. Professor McGonagall called the audience to attention and began a long speech about flourishing and intelligence and stepping stones and coming out of shells.

Rose tuned her out for fear of a boredom death occurring on Hogwarts campus. Instead she looked up at the castle where some of the best times in her teenage years had been. She knew, or at least she hoped, that she'd want her children to experience the same good times that she had. She was sure that most seventeen year old girls wouldn't be thinking about that at their graduation; there would be a long way to go yet.

She was starting her Arithmancy course at Gringotts in the summer, thanks to her Uncle Bill, and hopefully she'd be happy enough there to get a permanent position. Still, she couldn't help thinking that in years time, she would be here again, watching their children graduate.

_Did I just think that?! I meant my children, _mine_, who knows who else's they'd be._ She tried to deny the fleeting thought that had passed through her head, but there was no convincing herself. She had indeed caught herself fantasizing about her children with Scorpius; this was something to bring to a discussion at some point. This definitely wasn't something she should be thinking about, she mentally scolded; she was getting far too ahead of herself.

Scorpius brushed his hair out of his face, silently cursing the wind for its annoying distraction. In the wind's defence, he wasn't actually paying attention, and looking around at his peers, he wasn't the only one. Instead, he thought about something that had been playing on his mind a lot recently; would Rose agree to live with him?

When George Weasley had accepted his application for a job at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes – the Diagon Alley branch, as predicted by Rickie – Scorpius had somehow found himself flicking through apartments in the London area. Obviously he couldn't stay with Rose's family forever, no matter what Hermione would try to say.

But when he began to consider it realistically, he realized that the last thing he wanted was to live alone, and he couldn't imagine life without Rose, but would she go for it? Did she have other plans with Gringotts? And of course, the most important question was he to gain Rose's approval – what would Ron Weasley's opinion be?

Scorpius delved deeper into the potential outcomes of asking Rose's father for her to move in with him; most of which seemed to end in his death or endless pain. However, he was drawn suddenly from his thoughts by the sound of a scarily familiar voice ringing loudly in his ears. He looked around to see where it was coming from – everyone was mimicking his movements, so he wasn't imagining it. He frowned; he just couldn't locate the noise.

Then he looked up.

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**A/N: Ok, slight cliffy there. I know it's not brilliant but will hopefully keep you going for a week?! Please review, you have no idea how much I appreciate it...well you might, but whatever. Please review! :)**

**Provehito in Altum x  
**


	28. The Future

**A/N: Hey so it's been a while, but this chapter took me ages to get right, and it's pretty long I'm afraid. Hopefully it will be able to hold interest! Please review, because it's always good to know what I need to work on etc. Will be updating faster because I'm basically out of school and we're almost at the end of the story! I've got the rest mapped out so keep reading please! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed :) x  
**

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The sudden darkness was shocking and Rose found herself feeling particularly uneasy as it reminded her far too much of the stories she'd heard so many times about the Death Eater attack at the Quidditch World Cup – the first one her parents had been to all those years ago. '_Don't be so ridiculous Rose', _she told herself, _'this is Hogwarts. Hogwarts is safe now.'_ She repeated the words over and over in her head, but not quite believing it, because of course it was a lie.

Hogwarts wasn't _immune_, and to think that just moments ago she'd considered bringing children into the same world. How could she keep _them_ safe? Right now, she didn't even know where her current family was, or the man with whom said children would inevitably be shared. It could be called pessimism, but Rose saw it as logic – why risk the safety of people you love more than anything?

Scorpius frowned up at the sky, or what had been the sky until very recently. Now it was certainly too dark for this time of day, even in Britain. Yet however hard he squinted, it seemed impossible for him to identify what had replaced the traditional blueness.

Instead, he focused his attention on the sound, trying to push past the distracting noise of distressed and confused families in the crowd combined with Professor McGonagall's repeated 'Accio lanterns' to no effect. If he stretched far enough he could make out the voice from before, the one in the music, and within seconds he was able to identify the song being played from somewhere inside.

"_Seize the day, or die regretting the time you lost…"_

Well he didn't know where it was coming from, but he definitely knew who. He pushed his robes aside slightly, and reaching into the pocket of his jeans was not surprised to find that his iPod wasn't there.

"Rosie! ROSE!" Albus skidded to a stop beside one of his many red-headed cousins. "What's going on? Is this you again? Honestly Rose, graduation? Aunt Hermione is going to play an active role in your application to join the Headless Hunt when she hears this is your fault; what were you thinking?"

She sighed, "It wasn't me, Al, and it wasn't Scor either. But have you seen him anywhere? It's not like him to just vanish like that; he was here a minute ago."

"I can't really see anyone, or anything, I was just lucky I almost ran you down." She could see his mockingly apologetic grin faintly in the darkness, "what is that thing anyway? It never rains _that_ much, even in this part of the country."

"I have no idea, but I-" Rose gasped slightly as she scanned the black above their heads, "is that… Al look!" she pointed at a paler area of it, trying to make out the shapes it was making. "It's from the fifth floor. I walk past it every day."

"Merlin, it is! I know it! It's that tapestry of the unicorns playing Gobstones. And a few down from it… Rose that's the one of the sleeping dragon! Remember? Lysander set it on fire in your first week." Now that she knew what she was looking for, Rose found herself recognising tapestries from various corridors and halls that she passed through daily, as well as several from Ravenclaw common room. She was surprised to see that there were also multiple patches of royal blue draping fabric that had surrounded her bed frame for the past seven years.

"Al this is a patchwork quilt of all the material and fabric in the school! All it's missing is our clothes. It's like a parachute."

"Fantastic." The younger Potter was distinctly unimpressed. "And whose fault is it? If it's not yours?"

"I don't- hang on. Where's Millie?"

Albus blinked at the unexpected question, "I dunno. What's she got to do with it?"

"She just said something to me earlier, when I was getting ready…"

Albus waited, but no more information came. "What about?" he prompted impatiently.

"It was something about Rickie, and the pranks we used to pull. I forget I was distracted by something." She frowned, eyes narrowing sharply into the crowds, trying to pick out a familiar face. Her eyes locked with a pair of strong grey ones amidst the gathering. She tugged on Albus' cloak, and together they wove through clusters of people to Scorpius.

"Where's Amelia?" was met with "Where's Rickie?"

"I don't know"

"Stop talking!"

Albus looked on at the identical, uniform exchange. "Jeez, you might as well just get married already." He muttered in disgust.

"Shut it, Al." came two dark responses. Albus' shaking laughter vibrated through the crowd until Rose hit him.

"Let's be honest, we aren't going to find anyone in this mess. I'm going to murder Rickie." Scowled the tall, blond participant.

"Scor? Your shoe is screaming." Rose nodded at his trainers.

"What? Oh!" Scorpius slipped his shoe off sliding up a small black object - which had indeed been shouting at him in the form of music – and pressed it to his ear.

Rose smiled to herself, picturing the utmost horror on his 'father's' face, were he to witness his son using such an intolerably muggle device with such familiarity. She'd been surprised not to have seen his mother here at the very least. She had, maybe stupidly imagined that Astoria Malfoy would make the effort to be present at her only child's graduation.

On the other hand, Scorpius had had no contact with his mother for over a year now, to her knowledge anyway. But if Scorpius was in the slightest bit bothered by his lack of blood relatives present, he hid it remarkably well. Rose knew him better than anyone, and she couldn't sense any disappointment or dejection.

She watched as he talked calmly into the tiny and impossibly complicated piece of equipment, though she had no idea who was on the other end of the line. Suddenly all the earlier thoughts came running back to her; the idea of children, marriage, jobs, futures… they all had Scorpius in them, right at the heart and centre. However hard she tried, she just couldn't see it another way. It seemed ignorant to know who you would spend the rest of your life with at the age of seventeen with years ahead of you, but sometimes it's just there, and it's happening.

It had worked for her parents; sure, they'd had their ups and downs, and no doubt she and Scorpius would too – sometimes they were just far too similar to agree on anything. It had worked for Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, who'd been together since Ginny's fifth year pretty much. It didn't _have_ to be ridiculous, Rose decided; maybe it was Weasley blood or maybe it was just pot luck. Either way, she knew.

"Rose? Rose, wake up." Scorpius waved his hand in front of her face to no avail. Rolling his eyes, he leant to blow in her ear, sending her a good two feet off the ground. "Finally! Thought the basilisk got you. That was your Grandpa on the phone, well, it was your Grandpa's phone, but Rickie was on it. He's in the common room, so we have to go deal with him. That guy is weird. Rose are you hearing me?" he frowned in concern at her lack of response.

"Yeah, no, I'm listening. Just... thinking about… stuff. Let's go."

Scorpius nodded; she'd talk if she wanted to. He allowed her to drag him by the hand pushing past grumbling people who glared conspiratorially up at the blanket in the sky.

"This is getting highly tiresome and repetitive so can you just make him come down here? It would make everything so much easier. Better yet, just make him put the stuff back where it was." Rose whined, no longer caring whether or not she sounded like a petulant five year old.

"Nope, I already tried that while you were zoned out back there. He was pretty insistent that we get up there fast. My thinking is that he's going to ambush us with a Peeves attack for his own entertainment."

They were hit by a sudden flood of light from the candelabras in the entrance hall which were not normally lit at this time of day. It was quieter in here, and cooler without the hustle and bustle of the entire student body and faculty plus families. Rose jumped unceremoniously onto Scorpius' back, ignoring some half-hearted protesting, and he staggered slightly before regaining his balance and making an attempt at climbing the stairs.

By the time they had reached half way he'd had enough. "Rose we have two more floors to go, can't you just walk it?"

"Of course I can, but you need the exercise." She kissed his ear sweetly, and Scorpius decided that 'so do you' would be neither clever nor funny in this situation, and would probably not give him a good start to convincing her to live with him.

"What took you two so long? Come on, I don't have time for this, hurry up." Rickie had appeared apparently out of nowhere and was ushering them hastily up the staircase again. Rose slid down Scorpius' back to the floor.

"YOU! Where the hell have you been? What is this? You've de-walled the whole freaking castle!"

"I know right? Do you like it? I think it's pretty cool, actually no, it's awesome. Thanks so much Rose, it's mostly down to you." He grinned gratefully at her, lime green eyes glittering wickedly at her, as though he had anticipated her reaction.

"What did _I _do?"

"You don't remember? Last week in the- well here, actually-" he corrected, as they entered the oddly barren Ravenclaw common room. Until now, Rose hadn't realized just how big it was. "-I asked you about Reparo and Diffindo and their origins et cetera and you very helpfully showed me the counteraction for Diffindo, since repairing it wasn't working. I expect that's because they weren't connected in the first place, so there was nothing to repair. Either way, this was my project."

"Crap I did didn't I. This is all my fault. I should have known no good could possibly come from showing you that."

"Shh, you're distracting me!" Rickie frowned, holding his index finger to his lips as his eyes faded to a darker shade of bottle green so deep that his pupils blended perfectly.

"From WHAT? You aren't making any sense!"

"You're right, but I don't really need to make sense. That's not why I brought you here." He received blank faces in response. "Now if you remember, I've told you various things about me; the eyes, the gross blood thing and stuff, and of course you'll both have studied my… kind over the years." He slumped into a squashy armchair, gazing into the fire in the grate. Rose watched carefully as his sky blue eyes became the darkest, thickest black; the flames dancing wildly within.

"But there are things you won't know, because they were kept so buried in our own history that pretty much our entire generation is oblivious to it. Very few are aware of what they're capable of, despite it being hereditary simply because the magic it's worked with is only used when it's needed. You still look stumped," he grinned at them suddenly, "I need to explain better. Uhh… let me see… okay, so I told you that I was 'part vampire' right? Well it's funny how that works, but not funny haha; it's sort of taboo amongst the vampire community.

I don't know what you guys have learned about the transformation, but the idea of being a part vampire is that when the vampire bites the human with intent to kill, not change, they don't finish the job. Both my parents are human, but my mother was bitten by a vampire when she was about seventeen, and although she wasn't affected in the long term, any children she has will be affected with the same gene that I was.

"Full on, hardcore vamps don't like talking about this sort of thing because they don't like mistakes. They're perfectionists, so when it happens, and a human is able to escape with a scar but nothing else, they want to keep it quiet. Of course, they could always come after them on a second try, but there's always a chance that the human will be prepared – vampires are about as immune to Avada Kedavra as they are to wooden stakes through the heart. They don't want to risk that either; it's a self preservation thing."

"Rickie? I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's just gone midday, and there is still a huge dark blanket blocking the sun from the castle. Is this going somewhere?" Rose asked as gently as she could, doing her best to hide her frustration. All she wanted right now was to put the school back to the way it should be. She couldn't quite understand why it had to be now that Rickie told them all this.

"Of course it is. I'll set everything right back where it was when we're finished don't worry about that. It was more a bit of time wasting fun for me than actually being relevant, but it was worth it. Whatwas I saying? Yes, if the vampire doesn't kill for whatever reason – normally distraction or attack, just like with the werewolves. But they also failed to draw sufficient amounts of blood to begin the change or something like that, I forget the details. Anyway, if said human escapes and then procreates at any point in their life, their offspring will be unavoidably subject to the same features – crazy eyes, immortality, and pre-selected mate that kind of thing.

"Then there is the other thing which for some mysterious reason doesn't go to every kid, so I guess I just drew the short straw there. I managed to inherit a screwed up brain which gives me something called selective Legilimency. It's like I can hear the thoughts of anyone, anywhere so long as my brain decides I'm supposed to. That's what I mean by some people never knowing they can do it; they might not need to.

"Why do you think I just showed up in the middle of the year? It was the first time I'd heard someone else's thoughts mixed up with my own, and I had to do my own research, because obviously my parents had no idea."

"Hang on a second, whose thoughts were you picking up? This is some creepy stuff, and it's all completely different to what you first said. I thought _you_ got bit when you were seven, not your mum. You said you grew up like a normal person, now you're immortal? What's true here?" Scorpius picked his head up from the front of the sofa, which he'd chosen to sit in front of rather than on. He glared suspiciously into the other boy's eyes looking for a sign of deception.

"Hey, hey calm down. I didn't tell you the truth to start with because it's complicated, and from what I could tell from your thoughts at the time, the last thing you two needed was more drama. I first heard your thoughts when you last saw your father, Scorpius. Remember that? It wasn't long after the transfiguration mishap, and let me tell you there were some rather uncomfortable thoughts stemming from that." He smirked, "But it was at the house, when you hit him. That was the first time I heard thoughts, and Merlin did it scare the shit out of me.

"There I was, happily eating breakfast when I get the most violent, furious words screaming in my head like the music on your iPod. I could see you both as well, and it was one of the most painful things I've ever seen. I thought you were the angriest person ever, because that was what filled your head at that point.

"But then, when you got out of there, the way you were to Lavender, and how you felt about Rose, that was huge. You're a weird guy, even weirder before I knew you, and I thought that being the unfailingly nosy and boring person that I am, I would listen to your life instead of my own because I don't have one. Don't look at me like that; I was a home schooled, antisocial, friendless reject with literally nothing to do with my time. The kids in the village were told to stay away from me because I had a crazy temper and funny eyes.

"Then suddenly I'm thrown into another person's mind, in whose world it's an everyday excitement and adventure. I just acted on a whim one day when I got fed up with it all and I applied as a transfer to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"So they just let you in?" Rose blurted incredulously. As much respect and love as she had for her friend, she was hearing complete insanity. Since when had the school started admitting strange vampires as students out of the blue?

"Pretty much, yeah, I think I convinced them by my rather official looking letters. Hey, I said I had a whole lot of time on my hands! But that's what brought me to you guys. It was total chance that I was sorted into Ravenclaw too, but then in theory so was channelling your thoughts out of the rest of the world. I never believed in fate, but I guess it is real. I mean, you two are the living, breathing evidence. That's why I brought you up here."

"Either you need help, or I have got to cut back on the butterbeer because I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about now." Scorpius muttered.

"Let me put it simply. I want to thank you both for showing me how to live. I was pathetic; before I came here, I didn't know any kids my own age, I the concept of dating sent me running out the door and love was just a word in books. Books were my source of all knowledge so I had no understanding of people. Then I get here and I see love with my own eyes, I make friends for the first time and I learn the ways to use magic for entertainment purposes." He glanced guiltily at the still hovering carpet outside.

"You just brought us here to say thanks? I mean, it's just that you could have said that outside, with a normal sky. Was this all really necessary?"

"I couldn't just say it. I wanted to make it important and memorable so I used my abilities to my advantage. I may not be able to hear your thoughts, Rose, but since I met you I've learned to interpret the minds of those around you. Specifically Scorpius and your brother, occasionally Albus. It helped me work out insecurities and concerns you both had, and then bring you here to show each other that you don't have anything to worry about. When two people are perfect together, there has to be someone to make sure they work out. My job."

"You're cupid?"

"No, I didn't do any matchmaking, but I don't want you to lose the best thing that ever happened to you. You may not know it, but that's what you are to one another, however disgustingly cheesy that sounds. Remember the song I chose, Scorpius? The one I played out loud that you took literally forever to identify?"

Scorpius nodded, still not knowing where this was heading.

"What was the main thing it told you? What were you thinking about earlier? What were you worrying about instead of listening to the graduation stuff?" he pestered and Rose wondered if he was digging around in Scorpius' mind at that moment, trying to find the answers.

"Future. Us in the future. That's what I was thinking about right?"

"Exactly. What did you want to ask her? Remember? You were trying to decide what she would answer, what her dad would say. Ignore that, Scorpius. Just remember what you wanted to ask, forget about the rest of it, it doesn't matter. Ask her." Rickie's voice had softened to an extremely persuasive tone, and he watched the blond boy carefully, his royal blue eyes slightly spaced out as he concentrated on the subconscious at the same time.

"Marry me."

"WHAT? Where the hell did that come from? Are you insane!" Rickie flew off the couch backwards, thrown by the words. His voice had risen a few octaves and he now possessed startled yellow eyes not unlike a headlight. "That is so _not_ what you were thinking before, step by step Scorpius; don't completely lose your mind yet, you still have a few years of sanity left at your disposal."

"Okay."

"Okay, Rose you have got to use that brain of yours. Your dad will slaughter you!"

"Rickie you _just_ said it didn't matter! Why the sudden change of heart?"

"B-because it's c-crazy! You're seventeen! It was fine when you were just moving in, but marriage is out of the question. It's bloody ridiculous, and you know that I won't be the only one to take that view." He folded his arms, eyes settling a little having now gotten over the shock.

"Well I don't care what dad thinks. I know he won't like it, but you just pointed out everything that does matter and I can't see any reason why he should object that much. He and mum got married when they were nineteen, so they weren't much older than us."

"Wait you'll actually marry me?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure because that means you're going to have to put up with me forever."

"I know."

"Rickie can you pass me that?" Scorpius pointed at the door.

"The door knob? I don't think you're meant to take them off the door. It's school property."

"Yeah well so are the tapestries aren't they? Just yank it off and give it to me please."

There was a loud cracking sound followed by a clunk as the door knob on the other side of the door fell out. The door now had a gaping hole where the ornate door knob should have been. Rickie tossed it carefully across the room into Scorpius' waiting hands.

He frowned at it, pointing his wand loosely muttering a few words that seemed to make no sense at all. However, just moments later the weighty spherical blob was replaced by a delicate gold ring set with a deep emerald with clear diamonds bookending it. He slipped it neatly onto a perfect fit on his new fiancé's finger.

"How the fuck did you do that? Where did the stones come from?" Rose held her hand up in front of her, admiring the way it shone brightly without looking ostentatious or too elaborate.

"What can I say? Some get brains, some get beauty. I got both." He shrugged.

"I think you're getting a little ahead of yourselves here. Scorpius you just dug your own grave and Rose you helped him. A certain Ron Weasley is going to have some seriously violent words about this and you know it. There is no way he's going to stand for it!" Rickie attempted to reason.

"We'll see."

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**A/N: So there it is! Please review, let me know what you think :)  
**

**Provehito in Altum x  
**


	29. Going

**A/N: I'm back! And it's short I'm afraid, because I wanted to update and the rest of it isn't quite done so I cut it off at a reasonable place. It is short, but that doesn't mean you can't review it! It doesn't have to be pages long, just say what you liked/hated or whatever. Half of this whole thing is the varied feedback and opinions. So please review :) x  
**

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It had taken Rickie only a few minutes to restore the tapestries to their original locations, and in turn the grounds were once again bathed in natural light. It appeared that no one really had any idea what had happened to the sky, but were more than relieved to have it back to its normal blue, cloudy state. After a few moments of confused blinking and whispering, they were called back to attention and the presentation of the generic speeches and awards resumed.

The graduation ceremony continued rather uneventfully after that, aside from the occasional death glare issued by Professor McGonagall to Rickie which he quite happily ignored. Several groups of people lost interest with ease, and thus individual conversations sparked up around the crowd and the speaker was forced to raise their voice to a near shout in order to be heard at all.

Rose and Scorpius had agreed that keeping the new plans and ring quiet for the time being was the safest option. This was primarily because Ron Weasley slumbered lightly in his picnic chair a few rows forward. The worst thing would be for him to be the last to find out about the recent engagement.

Rose had discovered a pair of rather creepy looking gloves lying around the Common Room. They were black, with white skeleton detailing on the back showing the bones in the hand and she had an uncomfortable feeling that they belonged to the boy whose ring she now wore on her finger. It was definitely better for her mental health not to know how or why he had them, but their main purpose was to hide the ring from anyone who was liable to slipping the information to her father before she could. Rose cringed at the thought of him hearing it from someone other than herself.

However much he denied it Rose knew he loved Scorpius as his own son. There had been multiple times over the years when she'd caught the shock on Scorpius' face when Ron referred to him as such. She'd heard Ron proudly telling people all about his three children. And while she didn't expect him to welcome the engagement with open arms; they _were_ young and it could perhaps been seen as a slightly foolish idea, especially in the eyes of her parents.

As Lorcan Scamander's closing Head Boy remarks finally closed for good, Ron Weasley could feel his wife's elbow nudging him subtly in the ribs. He reluctantly opened his eyes as the elbow poked harder and was somewhat relieved to see people swiftly gathering their belongings and making for a speedy retreat.

Yet something, he couldn't describe what, but something was definitely different. Maybe it was just his Auror nature that meant he was being more paranoid than usual, but the strangest thing was that it wasn't necessarily a bad different. It was as though something was more complete in some way, something that should have always happened, and finally had. But it was certainly odd, not wrong… just out of the ordinary, an unanticipated change, a subtle twist in the atmosphere, a–

"Ronald Weasley if you don't get up this second, I swear I will swipe that chair from under you."

The gloriously impatient tone of his wife dragged Ron from his thoughts, and he jumped from the comfortable chair, watching it fold neatly at a wave of Hermione's wand. "They put the sky back to normal then?"

"Awake for that part were you?" she teased, "Yes, they seem to have sorted it all out. I don't think it was anything dangerous, though I do hope our three weren't involved. Merlin knows there are only so many lengths Minerva can go to to punish those two. Especially at this point; you'd think they would rather go out with a clean record rather than a week's worth of detention to their names." She shook her head in exasperation, remembering the numerous angry letters that had filled her kitchen table over the years.

"They've improved recently though, haven't they? Less problems?"

"Fewer problems," she corrected, "that's what I thought and then this happened. It just looked a lot like something they would do, try and cause mayhem on their last day. Can you throw me Hugo's tie, he's wandered off again." Hermione shrank the picnic hamper to the more portable size of a teacup, and the couple made their way back up the slope towards the Great Hall to locate their children.

Ron had chosen not to mention the weirdness he'd felt when he woke up. If nothing unusual had happened since the sky incident, it was probably just something he had for breakfast, and Hermione already had enough reasons to class him as insane. Nevertheless he couldn't ignore it; this wasn't something he'd ever experienced before, even if it didn't seem to be affecting him directly. "I bet it was that bacon…" he frowned.

"Mum! Dad!" Ron spotted his daughter standing beside the Gryffindor table, a gloved hand waving in their direction.

"Hello Rosie, sweetheart, how are you? I must say you're very lucky to have such a lovely figure; not many of us can pull off these ghastly graduation gowns. Wow, alliterative; ghastly graduation gowns." Hermione smiled tearfully, blinking repeatedly.

"Mum are you crying?" Rose was surprised to say the least.

"No of course not, why would you think that?" she dabbed carefully at her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. "Have you seen your brother, Rose? I have his tie."

"Umm, no." Rose turned to her father for help. "Is Mum alright?" she whispered.

"Rose, it's July, why are you wearing gloves?" Ron glared suspiciously at the left hand now wrapped tightly in Scorpius' right.

"Just comfortable." Rose replied in what she hoped was an offhand tone, adding a tiny shrug for effect, and silently praying he wouldn't push it. Ron had never been entirely happy about her having any relations with boys. Rose could remember her mother telling her about the time she'd first been introduced to the Scamander twins, aged two and a half. Her father had insisted on watching the toddler's every move, in case the boys 'tried anything' then proceeded to completely overreact when Luna suggested the three would be great friends when they were older.

He'd been even more reluctant to accept that Rose got on better with Albus than any of her female cousins and had thus been cold towards the younger Potter boy until Harry gave him a firm talking to about obsessive and extreme parenting.

And now, now she was engaged to be married. She would be moving to a new home probably closer to the city than her parents. It would be almost impossible for him to accept it, as well she knew. Rose felt Scorpius shift nervously next to her as he came into Hermione's tearful line of sight. She pulled him into a hug as the tears flowed excessively down her cheeks.

"Mrs Weasley, are you okay?" he asked tentatively, trying to ignore the fact that his neck was being held so tightly that the air supply was considerably lower than it should be, "you seem a little… emotional."

"Oh I'm just fine, dear. And I won't be having any of that 'Mrs Weasley' nonsense either. You've lived a good three years under my roof Scorpius; I'm either Hermione or Mum to you now as well you know. Oh good Merlin, Ronald, I've turned into your mother." Rose helped her sit down, mouthing an apology at her boyfr- well, fiancé now. "You two all packed then? Ready to go home?" Ron took a seat beside Hermione.

"Yeah, our trunks are all set, so as soon as we track down Hugo…"

"Where did that boy go?"

"Who, me?" Hugo appeared next to his father out of nowhere, the resemblance uncanny. "I was just giving Rickie a hand with… something."

"Fantastic. We've got a late bloomer, but a trouble maker nonetheless. Everyone to the car, now, before you lot can get in any more trouble." Ron brought up the rear, the trunks ushering the group along as he hovered them in front of him.

"Wait, don't we need to say goodbye to everybody? This is the last time we'll see them all together for maybe twenty years until our first reunion. Some of them we'll never get to see again." Rose stopped in her tracks, ignoring her father's long sigh at the hold up. She panicked, a cold chill flowing through her; for some reason she was terrified. Hogwarts had been a second home for her; she'd probably spent more time here than at home for the past seven years. Now suddenly it was over?

She would be expected to go out into the world, and live her own life after school. It wasn't as though it was a surprise; she'd always known it was coming, of course it was. Everyone got older and had to go to work after graduation. So what was she so afraid of? She wouldn't be alone; Scor would always be there, sooner or later he'd be her husband - if he _wasn't _there for her she'd kick him out.

"Rose?" a light tug on her shoulder, "Rosie? Come on, Rose, wake up alright? Your Dad's about to fall asleep again; his hover charms are failing. He's going to be responsible for the murder of an elf in a minute." Rose blinked, swallowing as she regained awareness of her surroundings. Families passed on either side, hurriedly getting to their method of transportation.

"You okay? I think we lost you for a second. Hey, you know we're going to see everyone! Remember that party tomorrow night? The one Millie went on and on about because she gets to go with Sand even though she's not graduating? Just forgot, huh." Scorpius grinned at her, watching the realisation dawn. "So don't panic, alright. You're going to be fine, I'll be there." Yes he would, and that was the most important thing.

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**A/N: So good? bad? so terrible I should never put pen to paper again? Your opinions, let me hear :) **

**Provehito in Altum x  
**


	30. Drink

**A/N: Hi hi, I'm back again! And I really hope this is okay! I'm about 98% sure this is the last chapter, safe for an epilogue I think. Also I would like to thank the two reviewers for the last chapter: Pilks, Avanell - thank you very much! **

**So yeah, enjoy, please please review! I won't be up again for at least a week because I'm off to Belgium. Which is fun. So I will miss you, but you are more than welcome to PM/review because I will definitely reply, I have no friends, just you guys :D  
**

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"What should I wear though? What are you wearing? A dress? Are you taking a jacket in case it gets really cold later? Is it going to be outside? What colours are you wearing? Should I wear heels or will they sink? Will there be dancing? What time are we meeting you guys? You are coming, right? And you're not going to try and do something stupid? Can I borrow your eyeliner when I see you, mine just got too small to hold, let alone use."

Rose had left the phone beside her on the desk, the speaker activated, so Amelia's endless questions could pour into her ears as she shaped her nails. It was not so unusual these days to find phones in Wizarding homes, particularly ones where one parent is either a Muggle or Muggleborn who is yet to give up on the idea of muggle technology.

Hermione had finally convinced Ron after years of persuading that it was worth having one in the house, just in case. Now it was being put to the most use it had experienced throughout its existence, as the two girls got ready together on different ends of the line. Amelia was Muggleborn, hence her ability to use the phone in ways that, for example, the Scamander twins would never be able to achieve with Luna, where each room in the home housed a Crumple Horn Snorkack and Wrackspurt siphons that she had inherited from her father's somewhat unusual inventory.

"I don't know, Mil'. I'm not all that bothered about what I wear; I just want to have fun. I can't get too stressed about it." Rose frowned at her depleted selection of varnish.

"But this is part of the fun! How can you not enjoy it? I know you, Rose, you say all that stuff about not caring but I'd bet Lysander that you're trying to choose your shoes right now."

"Nail polish, actually."

"Whatever just make sure you coordinate in all areas. We can't have you clashing, but I know perfectly well you've chosen your dress, Rose, so I'm going to give you ten seconds to start describing it to me before I appear in your bedroom to see it for myself." Amelia threatened.

"You wouldn't Millie, and I don't respond to empty threats."

"10…9…8…7…"

"You haven't even passed your test!"

"4…3…2…"

"Sand will kill you if you get yourself splinched," Rose warned.

"WOW! Rose its stunning! Where did you _find_ this? It's incredible." Amelia let the soft, pale gold fabric slide through her fingers. It was elegant and flattering, with a navy blue sash set below the chest to break up the gold. "And the perfect length for you as well, the colour is going to be a lovely contrast with your hair. My God Rose where did you get it? Scor is going to be following you around like a lost puppy."

"I should think so too," Rose smiled to herself, thinking of the ring on her finger.

Amelia let the dress go suddenly, looking suspiciously at Rose. Her eyes were narrowed as she analysed Rose's facial expression, "What aren't you telling me? No, look at me, not the floor; I can hear it in your voice. You're hiding something."

Rose looked up guiltily, regretting keeping it a secret from her best friend. But surely she could tell her now, what harm could it do? Wordlessly she held out her left hand, expecting a scream of either horror or excitement, whichever way Amelia took it.

Sure enough, the squeal was piercing and loud, and Rose was forced to wrestle the other girl to the ground to shut her up. "Can I please be bridesmaid? Oh Merlin, what did your Dad say? Is Scorpius still in St. Mungo's? Will he be out for tonight?"

Rose helped her up, "I haven't told him yet, or Mum. Scor is fine… for now, and yes you can."

"Wait, I'm the first one to find out? Yes, I love secrets! This is so freaking exciting!"

Sensing another cry of high pitched joy, Rose interrupted, "well no, not the first, Rickie knows but that's a really long story."

"You have to tell me _everything_." Amelia insisted, her hands clenching into eager fists. "Will your parents mind if I get ready here with you? Perfect, I'll go grab everything we'll need and then we can discuss the whole deal. I'll be right back."

Before she could respond, there was a loud crack and Amelia was gone, leaving no body parts behind. It was impressive to say the least.

But knowing she didn't have a lot of time, Rose went quickly to her mother, not wanting anyone else to find out until she knew that Hermione was comfortable with it. She would be far more reasonable than Ron would, and Rose didn't want to plan a wedding or maybe even have one unless her mother was happy with it going ahead.

On entering the kitchen, she found her mother and Scorpius deep in conversation, "Did you tell her already?" she directed at her future husband… that still felt incredibly weird to think.

"No, I was waiting for you. We were just discussing the arrangements for this evening."

"Rose? Rose? Oh you're in here, right. I just left my stuff in your room, okay? So you told them, then? Excellent! Mrs. Weasley, I've never done this before so I'm going to need your help planning." Amelia pulled up a chair beside the two women and spoke at such a fast pace that Rose had to lip read as well as listen to keep up. Scorpius frowned, leaning forward in intense concentration as he tried to acknowledge every word. It soon took its toll on his patience though, and he swiftly left them to it, knowing he could put his opinion in later on.

"Where are you thinking of having it? And who are we inviting? You know if there are lots of people, we'll need more space. These things have to be done so far in advance nowadays." She tutted quietly to herself while glancing at the list in front of her. _She made a list? How long was she gone?_

"Have you thought about when you're going to have it? Because with that to plan by we know how much time we have to work with. Some sacrifices will have to be made if you want it this year. Everything gets booked up so quickly."

"What on earth are you talking about, Amelia?" Hermione looked completely perplexed, surprised at how easily she'd fallen out of the loop.

Rose rubbed her temples, trying to block out all the talking. At this rate she would need some old fashioned Muggle painkillers to cure this headache; sometimes the wizard ones didn't cut it, particularly since they were charmed to stop over dosage. On taking one too many, they would transform into Bertie Botts in the mouth, but never a pleasant flavour to try and prevent people from using them as sweets thus provoking deliriousness and hallucination tendencies.

"They're getting married!" Amelia squealed at a similar pitch to a certain chipmunk. "Now, it's time to get serious. Rose, there is no time to waste. What date are you thinking? Or at least a month? You know we need to get Scor in here. What happened to him?" she glanced around the room, as if he'd been hiding in a cupboard behind her.

"Why don't we put off any planning for a bit, until tomorrow at least? For now, you two need to concentrate on _tonight's _party, and I must try and rescue your new fiancé from your father, Rose. I think it best if he hears from me, rather than Scorpius. Goodness knows what could happen to him."

* * *

"Four hours, Rose. That's all we have." Amelia filled the small plastic basin with warm water from her wand and put it on the floor. "Soak your feet, I'll sort your hair out, and you can tell me how he proposed!"

Within the hour, Rose's deep red curls fell gently to the base of her shoulder blades, her nails recoated with navy blue, and she had accidentally caught herself getting excited about wedding preparations. Despite never having been one for parties or planning et cetera, but Amelia's energy was too much. She couldn't help it; it was contagious.

"So, do you want to keep it quite traditional?" Amelia took notes while Rose straightened her hair. They decided to do it the old fashioned way, not wanting to waste time messing it up. "Have you got a colour scheme in mind at all?"

"Relatively traditional, with our own touches, of course and I was thinking perhaps a November wedding," Scorpius closed the door carefully behind him as he entered – without knocking, to Rose's annoyance. "The colour scheme doesn't matter that much does it? But can we have red in it? Like the flowers or something, I like red."

"Finally we're getting somewhere! See, I told you we needed him, Rose. Any other thoughts? Good to see you alive and vertical with head intact by the way."

"Yeah, he took it well," Rose's expression was doubtful, "Okay, so he needed a little convincing, but I think after he got over the shock of being a grandpa – which isn't happening soon as far as I'm aware – he came around. A better reaction than last time, anyway; he stayed conscious. Why does everyone always think I'm getting you pregnant?"

"Maybe you just have one of those faces," Rose shrugged, placing a silent anti-frizz charm on Amelia's perfectly straight hair. "Now you need to go, Scor, we don't have very long; there's still a lot to do. You're distracting me."

"Really? I'm not going to apologize for that." He smirked.

"I didn't ask you to, I asked you to leave. We have to get dressed, and you're on thin ice with Dad as it is."

Scorpius didn't need any further reminder about the wrath of Ron Weasley. "Okay, okay I'm going." He grasped her wrist, pulling her into an unexpected kiss too quickly for her to react. Rose wrapped her arms around his neck, forgetting where she was. This seemed to happen every time he touched her; he was her weakness, and the problem was that he knew it.

Amelia sighed, picking up Rose's latest subscription to Witch Weekly and began flicking through the pages while she waited for her friend to return to earth. It took slightly longer than she had hoped, but eventually Scorpius left Rose in a lovesick trance for the rest of the evening. "For goodness sake Rose, it's not as though he's been eaten by a dragon, he's upstairs!" Amelia scolded, after having caught her staring blankly out of the window for the seventh time since he left the room. It was getting incredibly frustrating to try and fail at holding her attention for more than a few minutes.

"Ten minutes, Rose? Ten minutes, and then you can see him. Now put that pretty little dress of yours on, I'm going to go give Scor his tie – because it matches – and when you're both ready, I'll let you see him. _Only _then. You've been separated for less than three hours; keeping you apart on your wedding day is going to be a _night_mare."

* * *

It was going to be a long engagement, Ron decided, a very long one. After some convincing from his wife, he had come reluctantly to the conclusion that torturing Scorpius within an inch of his life wasn't entirely reasonable. Ron had, in true punishment style, been sent to his room to calm down far away from Scorpius. To say that he was irritated by this would be a massive understatement, particularly since he had lost the chance to escort the pair that evening. Hermione had decided that they could apparate safely by themselves, and she didn't want to let her husband loose when he could so easily lose his temper.

The most annoying part of his predicament was that Ron couldn't quite work out why he had such a problem with Rose getting engaged. He couldn't argue that he hated Scorpius, because it was far from the truth; in honesty he'd sooner see Rose with him than anyone else. It was almost as though he'd resigned himself to it, somewhere in the back of his mind, that he would eventually have to let her live her own life, and he'd rather she do so with Scorpius than alone. She was his little girl, the only one he would ever have. Unless they got a dog, he considered, though it wouldn't be quite the same.

The party was big and it was loud and it was not somewhere Rose would have gone on a regular basis. She was able to recognise people from over the years, glad that she could put a name to the face. She'd pictured turning up and realizing that she had never really known anyone, but was pleased to discover that this wasn't the case. However, she was even more pleased to find the seemingly endless supply of Firewhiskey, Butterbeer, and a vast amount of unfamiliar alcohol.

Lysander carefully steered Amelia away from the bar and towards the small area filled with dancing bodies and the band on the platform at the front. Needless to say she was far happier to do so than the two who hung back. "So, um, do you want to dance?" Scorpius asked, with a unique lack of enthusiasm.

"Yes, I would." Rose smiled at his tone.

"I was being polite."

"Then it's your own fault. Let's go." But it wasn't long before they were sitting, or rather lying, on the grass a little way away from the party action, each holding a bottle of something strong and sweet that refilled automatically when empty.

"I don't think we're party people." Rose whimpered, nursing a throbbing headache which she later insisted was due to the music.

"No…we're drinking people," Scorpius grinned as he slugged down another bottle.

"We're going to be alcoholic hermits by the time we're thirty."

"Nximebingairugs."

"Wha'?"

Scorpius frowned, "Next…time…bring…ear…plug," he enunciated every syllable with great concentration. He yelled a string of violent curses as a giant lump toppled over his stretched out legs. "Oi! Whayoudoin'?"

"Scorpius? Mate, what are _you_ doing? We've been looking for you for hours, you just disappeared a –" Lysander leaned closer with narrowed eyes, "are you_ drunk_?"

Scorpius giggled uncharacteristically, "Nah. Course not."

"You're wasted, you're both completely off your heads. Shit, we have to get you home."

Rose tugged on his trouser leg, "siddown Sandy, 'lax a bit." She ignored Amelia's gentle attempts to stand her up, insisting on staying where she was. "Join us…fun."

"Do you know any way we can sober them up? I mean, we could throw water on them, but I don't think they'd take it well." Amelia held Rose's head up, trying to keep her as conscious as possible.

"Not really, unless we know how much they drank-"

"LOTS"

"-I think we just have to take them home; no doubt Scor will be hexed into oblivion tomorrow, but maybe the hangover will be punishment enough. They charmed these bottles – they could have drunk gallons. They probably did."

Amelia sighed, rather irritated that Rose's hair had been messed up and tangled with grass and twigs, "alright, try and keep them awake and please don't let her puke on her dress. I'm going to find Rickie – he can help us apparate back. I can't carry one of them by myself."

"Sandy?" Lysander looked down at the girl he was supporting, "your name matches your hair." She pondered, pulling the ends of it. "But it's not as nice as Scor's. Surry. I'm gonna marry him." His eyebrows shot up at that, and his eyes flicked instantly to her ring finger where he found the proof of her words. He watched as her hand slid along the grass in short, jolted movements. It pushed aside discarded bottles and litter, finding what it was looking for not far from her head.

Lysander couldn't keep the smile from his face as her fingers locked tightly in Scorpius' previously mentioned hair, causing a startled 'mngh' sound, and they were soon both dead to the world. He didn't know a better couple than these two; they were soul mates and it wasn't something he necessarily believed in, but they made it true in the least cheesy way possible. They were different and the same in all the right ways and they just worked together – particularly over alcohol it seemed.

And as he helped Rickie transport the two unconscious lovers home, and as he said goodnight to Amelia at her door and as he fell fully clothed onto his own bed, all he could think was that if, in some way he could be just half as happy for the rest of his life as Scorpius and Rose, then he would be satisfied.

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**A/N: Hope you liked? If not, why not? I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK :) In a completely normal, non-creepy way. I have too much energy. I think it's the coffee. And currently rocking out to Stone Sour! on the radio... whatever. Bye :D**

**Provehito in Altum x  
**


	31. Epilogue

**A/N: So we have finally reached the end! I'm sad to leave it, but I hope I have managed to do the epilogue justice. I've really enjoyed writing this couple, and though I will definitely be writing more Harry Potter in the future, I don't like to revisit couples because I get confused with what I already did and end up repeating myself. But anyway, I hope you enjoy it, I hope it's a decent ending and I really hope you give me your feedback! Also the dresses are on my profile so check em out :) bye for now, but alert me and if I bring some other stuff up you'll know. I was thinking about a wingless Maximum Ride next, but who knows? Thanks so much to all of the reviews and comments and support I've got throughout the story, I appreciate every one of you, in a completely non creepy way.**

**Bye! x  
**

* * *

It had been a somewhat hectic year and a half in the Weasley family. The prospect of another wedding had excited the female population to the nth degree and soon everyone wanted to participate in the planning and organization of Rose's marriage to Scorpius.

Molly Weasley senior had enlisted Molly Junior, Lucy, Roxanne and Lily in catering with Ginny on guard to rein her mother in where necessary. Fleur had offered her style expertise for the colour scheming, bridesmaid dresses and table decorations all down to the last napkin readily assisted by her daughters and Audrey, who had taken on the position of florist.

Unluckily for some, Bill had been roped into transport while James, Fred and Albus were assigned to entertainment at the reception and Ron was dragged between venues for an appropriate reception before the bride eventually decided to have it at the infamous Burrow.

Angelina was a different case. She had always been Rose's favourite aunt, only because they were similar in so many ways. She'd once confessed that for her own wedding to George, she didn't know what the cake looked like until she had to cut it. Despite protests from the bride to be, Angelina refused to allow Rose to do the same by way of her dress. So for hours on end, Rose had traipsed around dress shops in Muggle London – Hermione insisted they do it properly – accompanied by her mother, Angelina and Amelia trying on reels of flawless cream or white silks and lace until at long last she found it.

And now here she was, standing a good five inches taller than usual, a floor length dress surrounding her. It was strapless, white and graceful, flowing in a beautiful soft silk. The ruffled skirt added waves and volume to the otherwise simple piece, and somehow it was perfect. The only colour was the thin red ribbon around the waist, to match the colour of the bridesmaid dresses per Fleur's request – the only one reasonable enough for Rose to comply. Fairies carrying her train down the aisle were far too ridiculous for her. **Dress on profile**

Victoire had carefully cur, curled and pinned Rose's now elegantly arranged hair. It fell down her back, some pinned with diamond grips away from her face to 'accentuate your neck and cheek bones, whilst adding gentle layers.' Rose had put her foot down at a tiara, but could not argue that Victoire was the best hair stylist she could have ever asked for.

Now it was just a matter of time, and not fiddling with her dress or hair. Dominique had bluntly promised to 'murder your pretty bridal arse' if she ruined her make up, so Rose put all her concentration into keeping her hands away from herself. It was a good distraction from the nerves more than anything.

"Ten minutes, you ready?" Amelia whispered, poking her head round the door barely able to contain her excitement. Her deep red dress stretched slightly over the faint baby bump that was just beginning to show. **Dress on profile**

"I think so, just about. Wait, what do I have to do? What do I say? Where do I go?"

"Okay, first you have to calm down, relax and breathe. Don't get all worked up; you'll sweat out of your dress which you look so gorgeous in by the way, so don't do that. Now, do you have your vows," A patient approach seemed to relieve the panicking bride.

"My what?"

"Your _vows_ Rosie, the ones you wrote to say in church."

"Oh, yes I have them." She held up a small roll of scrunched parchment in a shaking fist.

"Good and you can still read it?"

"Doubtful, but we'll see. Are you alright? Not too uncomfortable? Please try and remember not to drink, because although Sand would gladly shadow your every move today he has best man duties and – oh! Are you doing a speech or is that just him? Shit, do I have to do a speech?"

"Deep breaths, Rose. I'll be fine, Sand is fine, you're fine, but Scor will _not_ be fine if you don't turn up." She squeezed Rose's trembling hand tightly. "Come on, I can hear the car outside, your Dad's waiting."

The following quarter of an hour was a blur to Rose. She remembered getting in the swanky car decorated with ribbon and flowers, but then suddenly she was at the bottom of an aisle, surrounded by clusters of even more flowers and smartly dressed friends and family with brightly coloured hats and ties, her father standing at her side. She couldn't have been more grateful for his presence as it was highly unlikely that she would have been able to remain vertical otherwise. Although it definitely helped that she and Amelia had been practicing with their shoes for weeks.

The church was an incredible sight, giving the Great Hall a run for its money, and Rose knew perfectly well that it wouldn't have looked nearly as good without everything her family had done to help. She found herself looking for them all amongst the crowd, all her uncles sat in a row near the front, their unmistakeable gingery-grey ness stood out next to the jet black hair of her Uncle Harry. She spotted Albus, James and Fred looking smarter than she'd ever seen them, but being no match for Louis who always managed to look spotless – a gift he'd inherited from his mother. Rose noticed Fleur anxiously scanning the decorations as well as the dresses of all of her aunts and cousins.

The only people she couldn't find in the congregation in front of her were the ones who stood beside her. Amelia and Lily held their bouquets in silence, but Rose could sense Lily's restraint from jumping up and down with excitement, and as she glanced at Amelia she caught her best friend gazing unfocusedly up at the altar. Following her stare, she was not surprised to find Lysander as the object of her concentration. But it was the person next to him that kept her eyes trained in that direction. He, in all his tuxedoed, neatly combed blond hair, incredibly handsome glory, he was the reason she was here. The rest of it hardly mattered; they could have been in a waterfall or a mud hut for all she cared, though of course she wouldn't tell Aunt Fleur that.

"Rose? Rosie, come on, we have to go now!" Ron tugged lightly on his daughter's arm. Rose tore her eyes away from the back of his head so she could give all her attention to not falling over. Instead she kept her eyes on the front, and she only stumbled once when she was distracted by someone moving up ahead of her.

"Dad, what's Rickie doing there?"She hissed quietly, before panicking a little, "DAD! I can't marry, Rickie! Something's wrong, what's he doing up there! He should be sitting down!" her eyes widened, and Ron had to ease her forward so she didn't come to a standstill.

"You're not marrying Rickie, Rose. Calm down! This is why I told your mother a muggle wedding was ridiculous; too confusing. Rickie's officiating the marriage." Ron assured his daughter in hushed tones.

"He's what? He can do that? Doesn't he need to be a priest or something?"

"Just a license in the Wizard World. We can't be having this discussion now!"

"Sorry," Rose quieted again, silently considering the irony of a vampire even being allowed in a church, let alone conduct a service.

"_Part vampire" _was the indignant retort to her thoughts. She glared at Rickie who pretended not to notice.

The ceremony passed faster than she expected when she looked into his eyes. From the moment Ron put her hand in Scorpius', she lost interest in the whole thing. As far as she was concerned, it was just them hanging out in secure silence. The only reminder she received was a sharp stiletto kick to her calf when it was time to read the vows.

Otherwise, she just watched him, relishing childishly in the fact that staring made him uncomfortable. Or at least normally it did, but today the grey pools gazed straight back at her without the slightest insecurity or uncertainty, but perhaps a hint of a smirk. She did her best not to laugh, and the situation reminded her of the many times they'd sat in front of Professor McGonagall, knowing that laughing would be a very stupid thing to do, thus making it harder not to.

"_Don't even _think_ about it. I'm on a roll," _Rickie warned, though not slipping in his speech. That was enough to crack a wide grin across each face and Scorpius, relaxing a little, thoughtlessly ran a hand through his hair making it look as though he'd suffered an electric shock. Teddy had to hold Dominique in her seat to prevent her from hexing the groom for ruining his perfect image. Said groom was seemingly oblivious to what he had done.

"_This is a disaster. If you two don't cooperate, then I'll screw it up and you'll have to do it again and_ _I'll take back your wedding present. Only _you_ would do this on your wedding day. Behave." _His eyes flashed a strikingly neon orange as he glowered furiously at the nearly weds. Rose had no idea how he managed to tell them that while continuing the ceremony; the congregation noticing nothing.

She supposed it was a creepy vampire thing, but it was certainly working, and although it may have seemed to him as though they weren't taking it seriously she knew that they were just happy. And hey, it was her wedding; she could laugh if she wanted to.

"_NO."_ Rose ignored him, what Rickie said didn't matter today… except for the present, that would be a shame to waste. She hadn't heard a single word, and she hadn't needed to. It surprised her that any bride would pay attention with their favourite person in the world standing opposite them with hair like a pale yellow Pygmy Puff sticking out all around their head.

But soon it was over, as the words 'you may kiss the bride' were delivered in a slightly less graceful manner than Rickie was generally capable of. Rose smiled into her first kiss as a married woman, it was so gentle and warm and familiar that although he was the only person she'd ever kissed, she couldn't imagine wanting anyone else in the same way.

She kissed him back more forcefully, relishing in the taste she'd missed for the last forty-eight hours whilst trying to remember that she was wearing painfully high heels and that falling over wouldn't be the most elegant thing to do at this point. Nevertheless, she was not best pleased when amongst the heartfelt aw's and ah's her father let out a distinctive, disgruntled cough earning him a loud thwack from a considerate family member.

"Just so you know," Scorpius whispered against her lips, "I will love you for forever, so there is absolutely no need to renew our vows at any point ever."

Rose laughed, thinking how relieved her male relatives would be to hear that. "Okay, but you're getting a bit ahead of yourself, we still have our wedding presents to open." His eyes lit up, this clearly being what he was looking forward to for the whole event.

"When?"

"Tomorrow, we're off back to the Burrow now. Who knows, if we're lucky some kind soul will have got you a hairbrush."

The evening passed rather quickly for Scorpius for several reasons. Firstly he was in the company of the most beautiful woman he had ever and would ever encounter. Secondly, there was a considerable amount of alcohol and Molly Weasley's incredible food consumed by him that he had almost no reason to eat for weeks. And thirdly, perhaps most importantly, he was looking forward to the present opening the next day.

When the next day arrived however, and the newly wedded couple awoke in their apartment, Scorpius was not impressed to leave the bedroom for coffee only to fall over a huge box blocking the doorway. The vast number of perfectly wrapped gifts filled their not-so-large living room having all been delivered by owl over night. There weren't even that many people_ at _the wedding, how could they all be giving presents?

It was obvious after the first few boxes shed their wrapping that this process was going to be far more interesting for Rose and Scorpius. Rose started wondering why they had bothered furnishing their apartment in the first place, since one of the biggest surprises – literally – was a sofa that moulded into the optimum seating or sleeping position and temperature when occupied.

Having decided not to make a wish list, there were many unexpected presents, as Rose discovered when they were about half way through. She tore away at the paper ruthlessly, but froze when she noticed something moving inside the casing.

"Scor who's this one from?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the motion in front of her.

He leant over and flipped the tag around, "Sand's parents. Why what is it?"

"I have no idea but it moves by itself. It's from Luna, Scor, it could be anything! I bet it's lethal. Or fire breathing."

"Calm down, that'll be Hagrid's. We haven't got to his yet so you don't have to panic too much. Just- how about you open it carefully, but get your wand out in case it bites. And stand back a little, maybe." He shuffled round on his knees so they could open it together, wands at the ready.

Rose peeled back the covering further, and was met with a furry nose nudging her fingers. She squealed in delight as she realised exactly what it was, leaning closer for a better look.

"What? What is it? Did it hurt you?"

"No! Scor, look! Look what they got us! It's a _puppy!"_ Rose exclaimed with utter joy.

"A puppy? What were they thinking? This place is only just big enough for the two of us!" Scorpius attempted to plead with his wife, trying to make her see reason.

"Let's put this in perspective right now," Rose picked up the tiny dog, holding it in her lap and playing with the little padded paws. "We will be getting rid of _you_ before we get rid of baby Pansy." She cuddled the black ball closer to her in protective adoration.

"Pansy? How do you know it's a girl?"

"There's another note in the box," she dismissed, "Oh isn't she so pretty, Scor? Y'know I'm starting to think I married the wrong person." Rose held up the wriggling black puppy to her husband for inspection. 'Pansy' had a wrinkly face with folds of furry skin that made her look as though she'd run head on into a wall, in the most endearing way possible. Her eyes were big and dark, the classic 'puppy dog' that had the natural effect on Scorpius.

"Yes, she's lovely. I'm just slightly apprehensive that it's from the Scamanders. Apart from it being a dog- sorry, apart from _her_ being a dog, it's a pretty normal gift. There's nothing weird about it, you know? It's not really their style. It- she probably grows to the size of the Burrow. Or she'll breathe fire like I said."

Rose frowned, "I don't care if she poops cockroach clusters. She's staying." Her voice rang with finality, and made it quite clear that she was not going to argue on the subject. They had a new pet puppy. End of.

"Are you going to be like this when we have children?"

"Are you suggesting that we give back our children because we don't have the space?"

"NO, no, no, no. Just, is your word going to be final? For disciplining and stuff, you know, in general?"

"Of course." Rose answered, it was obvious wasn't it'?

"Oh okay. That sounds reasonable." Scorpius retorted sarcastically.

"It's not that I doubt you'll be an excellent father, but…" she paused, as though trying to find the words. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, alright?"

"What bridge?"

"It's an expression."

"No it's not, it's your way of ending the conversation so you win."

"Scor, it's an expression! It means we can talk about it when we actually _have_ children!"

"Oh. Okay we'll do that."

"Now be a good husband and see if there's anything for Pansy to eat." She passed him the little dog that clung to his shirt and licked his neck affectionately.

It may have been Luna's funny way of kick starting parenting in them, but it was certainly successful in that Pansy was now their baby… their furry baby whose breath smelled absolutely vile and had a tendency to fall over when she sneezed. Nevertheless, she definitely prepared them for their first human child, who was born two years later and given the name Abigail Sky Malfoy.

Although her first name was adored by the Weasley family, the majority looked slightly confused by the choice of 'Sky'. Hermione in particular was uncertain about the decision, telling her daughter that it was like calling your child 'grass' or 'wand' or 'purple'.

Rose and Scorpius ignored all alternative suggestions. They had chosen the name Sky because it was different, but had wimped out of it being the first name in case the little girl really hated it. At least this way the S could stand for whatever she wanted. There had been a longer argument with regard to using 'Malfoy'. Her father didn't want her to suffer prejudice from the name despite it being so many generations on, but Rose decided that if she took the name then so would their children. Malfoy meant something different now, and the staff at Hogwarts would dread her arrival for a very different reason than it could have been.

There was no doubt that Abigail Sky Malfoy had many years of trouble making ahead of her, and her parents were more than happy to revisit it with her.

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**A/N: The END! Too cheesy? Sorry, that's too bad. It's done now, and I hope you enjoyed it enough to review. Please? Love you all, thanks. feel free to PM me whenever. Bye x**

**Provehito in Altum x  
**


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